NewsCovering Kentucky

Actions

Local Governments Seek Negotiating Power In Opioid Lawsuit

Posted at 7:39 PM, Jun 15, 2019
and last updated 2019-06-15 21:19:02-04

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Lawyers are asking a federal judge overseeing hundreds of lawsuits filed against manufacturers and distributors of opioid drugs to create a negotiating group consisting solely of U.S. towns, cities and counties.

The goal of a motion filed Friday in federal court in Cleveland is to create a system for the country’s 25,000 municipalities to benefit from any future settlement reached through the lawsuits.

Joseph Rice is a South Carolina-based attorney representing local governments in the complaint. He says the request would also help the manufacturers and distributors by defining a finalized group of entities benefiting from a settlement.

Hundreds of lawsuits accuse pharmaceutical companies of downplaying the addictive nature of opioids and prescription painkillers largely blamed for one of the deadliest drug crises in U.S. history.

(Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

6/14/2019 11:08:34 AM (GMT -4:00)