The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit approved a provision in the Purdue Pharma bankruptcy settlement this week that shields the Sackler family from liability for opioid deaths,  and experts say the court’s analysis will be cited as support for other potentially controversial tools or strategies used by businesses filing Chapter 11.

“In addition to keeping the door open for nonconsensual non-debtor releases in Chapter 11 cases, the Second Circuit decision also opens the door to other boundary-pushing components of restructuring plan(s) because the authority the Second Circuit relies on for these releases is so generic,” said Melissa Jacoby, a University of North Carolina Chapel Hill School of Law professor.