A settlement with Purdue Pharma hung in the balance at the Supreme Court as victims of the opioid epidemic urged justices to approve a deal with the company's owners.

Supreme Court justices appeared torn Monday on whether Purdue Pharma's bankruptcy settlement plan, which would protect the Sackler family ownership from civil liability in exchange for $6 billion in opioid relief funds.

Supreme Court justices expressed concern Monday over the federal government’s objection to a bankruptcy deal struck by Purdue Pharma that would release the family who owns the company from liability in lawsuits related to the opioid crisis.

The Supreme Court must decide a narrow question but just below the surface is a debate over how much to punish the Sacklers for the opioid crisis.

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The Supreme Court will hear arguments Monday morning over the legality of an almost $6 billion bankruptcy settlement involving Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer of the medication OxyContin that has spurred the deadly opioid epidemic.

Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September 2019 after it faced scores of lawsuits related to the opioid crisis.