More: The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a hotly contested deal that shielded members of the billionaire Sackler family from civil lawsuits related to the opioid epidemic.

The decision, in Harrington v. Purdue Pharma, clouds the future of a settlement that committed billions of dollars to victims of the opioid epidemic, but it opens up the possibility that the Sacklers, who own Purdue while it remains in bankruptcy limbo, would face a deeper reckoning. And it may spell broader changes for other major settlements that insulate individuals behind acts of corporate wrongdoing.

The justices split along unusual lines. Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote the opinion, joined by Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Clarence Thomas, Ketanji Brown Jackson, and Samuel Alito. Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote the dissent, joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.