Opioid Distributors Get ‘Negotiation Class’ Tossed on Appeal (2)

Drug distributors McKesson Corp., Cardinal Health, AmerisourceBergen, and a group of retail pharmacy chains persuaded a federal appeals court to reject a novel “negotiation class” comprised of all cities and counties suing them over the nationwide opioid crisis.

The Cincinnati-based court concluded Thursday the judge overseeing opioid cases filed in federal courts exceeded his authority by creating the group lawsuit in a way that violated rules governing such litigation. The ruling isn’t expected to interfere with ongoing talks to resolve more than 2,000 lawsuits filed by state and local governments over the fallout from the U.S. opioid ...