Lawyers have put on hold a proposal to bring all 24,500 communities across the U.S. into negotiations to reach a comprehensive national opioid settlement, according to Cleveland.com.
Four things to know:
1. Thousands of lawsuits have been filed by local governments against key industry players, including Purdue Pharma, Johnson & Johnson, Teva Pharmaceuticals, McKesson, AmerisourceBergen and Cardinal Health. The proposal would create a class-action structure that would allow more than 24,000 cities, county and other municipal governments to work together to try and settle claims that drug manufacturers and distributors helped fuel the opioid crisis.
2. If the proposal is accepted, it could expand the number of municipalities and counties eligible for compensation from the settlement from 1,650 to about 24,500.
3. On June 25, lawmakers asked to put the plan on hold because they wanted to have more time to address the concerns laid out by dozens of attorneys generals representing states and U.S. territories.
4. U.S. District Judge Dan Polster in Cleveland granted lawyers the extra time.
Read the full report here.
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