A federal appeals court has agreed to review a novel class action concept approved by a federal judge in the opioid litigation in the hopes of reaching a global settlement.
In dual orders Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit granted interlocutory appeal of a Sept. 11 order by U.S. District Judge Dan Polster of the Northern District of Ohio, approving certification of a “negotiation” class of potentially 33,000 cities and counties suing opioid companies over the epidemic. The idea of the “negotiation” class, put forth by the lead plaintiffs attorneys in the multidistrict litigation over opioids, was to bring both sides closer to the settlement table.
