Thousands of cities and counties must decide today whether to remove themselves from an unprecedented class action brought against drug companies over the opioid crisis.
Two of the largest counties in the nation, Florida’s Palm Beach County and Harris County, Texas, announced this week they would opt out of the so-called negotiation class, a master case designed to reach a potential global opioid settlement of all lawsuits against drug companies and pharmacies. Judge Dan Polster of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, who certified the class in a multidistrict litigation proceeding involving 2,400 lawsuits, set a Nov. 22 deadline for cities, counties and other governments to decide whether they would like to opt out.
