Council authorizes city manager to sign ballot accepting Purdue Pharma Chapter 11 plan

The Hutchinson City Council voted Aug. 19 to authorize the city manager to sign a ballot accepting the Purdue Pharma Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan, putting the city in the pool of unsecured creditors that may receive distributions from the structured settlement.

Paul Brown, city attorney, explained the background: Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family proposed a bankruptcy plan that would effectively reorganize and surrender company assets; the matter has already reached the U.S. Supreme Court in prior litigation. Brown said municipalities are unsecured creditors in the Chapter 11 case; although unsecured creditors typically recover nothing, this plan includes assets and third‑party contributions beyond secured creditor claims. Kansas law directing settlement administration (cited generally as state legislation on addressing addiction funds) means distributions will likely be administered by the Kansas attorney general’s office and paid on a pro rata basis rather than directly to each jurisdiction.

Brown recommended that the city cast a ballot accepting the plan to preserve its participation; council approved the motion and authorized the city manager to sign the ballot and related documents. The motion passed with recorded votes: Richardson — yes; Garza — yes; Bass — yes; Meggers — yes.

Nut graf: Authorizing the city manager to sign the ballot does not create an immediate payment to Hutchinson but preserves the city’s status as a claimant in a national Chapter 11 process that will be administered under Kansas law and could yield pro‑rata distributions depending on the final settlement structure.

Ending: The city attorney will execute the ballot and related documents as authorized and monitor the bankruptcy litigation and settlement administration process for any distribution instructions from the Kansas attorney general’s office.