Bottles of prescription painkiller OxyContin pills, made by Purdue Pharma LP sit on a counter at a local pharmacy in Provo, Utah, U.S., April 25, 2017.
Bottles of prescription painkiller OxyContin pills, made by Purdue Pharma LP sit on a counter at a local pharmacy in Provo, Utah, U.S., April 25, 2017. Reuters / George Frey

Judges on a U.S. appeals court appeared reluctant on Friday to revive a legal shield that would protect the Sackler family that owns Purdue Pharma from lawsuits related to the prescription opioid OxyContin, a key to ending the company's bankruptcy.

One member of the three-judge panel on the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals hearing oral arguments of Purdue's presentation described precedents cited as "a flimsy ship."

Purdue needs the court to revive the legal shield in order to carry out its bankruptcy exit plan.

The plan will provide $6 billion - contributed by the Sacklers in return for the legal shield - to settle thousands of lawsuits against the company for allegedly fueling a nationwide opioid epidemic.

The Office of the U.S. Trustee, an arm of the Department of Justice which acts as a watchdog in bankruptcy cases, had yet to present its arguments on Friday against reviving the legal shield.