Judge Considers Unprecedented 'Negotiation Class' For Opioid Suit Involving Georgia Communities

Several Georgia communities are involved in one of the largest
civil trials in U.S. history. The consolidated case is unfolding in
federal court in Cleveland, Ohio, with local governments as the
plaintiffs and opioid manufacturers and distributors as defendants.
The case is so complicated a special master proposed grouping the
participants into an unprecedented “negotiation class” to try to
settle, and participants debated the idea at a hearing Tuesday.
U.S. District Judge Dan Polster, who’s pushed for a settlement in
general, showed interest in the novel idea.