Federal opioid trials set for 2019 in NE Ohio

A Cleveland-based federal judge with a plan to settle hundreds of lawsuits filed by local governments against the drug industry over the destruction wrought by prescription opioid painkillers has altered his course (Source: “Opioid trials to begin in 2019 as settlement is also pushed,” Associated Press via ABC News, April 12, 2018).

Judge Dan Polster issued an order Wednesday scheduling three Ohio trials for 2019 — a shift from his earlier plan to try to work out settlements without also preparing for trials.

In his order, the judge says the parties have made "good progress.” The hope is that holding some trials can help resolve some of the thorniest common issues in the cases. The first trials will be in lawsuits from Cleveland and the Ohio counties of Cuyahoga and Summit.

Getting there could be even more complicated than the landmark $206 billion settlement in 1998 between four companies and attorneys general for 46 states and territories. In the federal case, nearly 500 local government entities are also suing. Defendants include drugmakers, distribution companies and companies that manage pharmacy benefits for most Americans.