Sackler family member ordered to testify in opioid case

COVENTRY, R.I. – A Connecticut court has ordered a member of the family that owns Purdue Pharma to testify in Rhode Island’s lawsuit against the drug maker over its role in the national opioid epidemic.

The Providence Journal reports the Connecticut Superior Court ruled this week that Jonathan Sackler must testify in a suit filed last year by Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha.

A Rhode Island judge earlier this month rejected a motion to dismiss the lawsuit that was filed by the Connecticut-based company, its Coventry-based subsidiary Rhodes Pharmaceuticals and other companies named in the suit.

Sackler, a Connecticut resident, was served with a subpoena to testify in May and sought a protective order from his state’s court. Representatives for the family and company didn’t comment.

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Information from: The Providence Journal, http://www.providencejournal.com