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.