Opioid Lawsuits: What A Settlement Could Mean For Kennesaw

KENNESAW, GA — More than 2,000 of the lawsuits aiming to hold drug makers, pharmacies and distributors accountable for the thousands of deaths now attributed to opioid overdoses were consolidated into what is considered a landmark case in Ohio federal court. Numerous other cases are also weeding their way through courts around the country.

Judge Dan Aaron Polster — the federal judge overseeing the proposed negotiations in the landmark case in Ohio — has encouraged parties to settle the case. Just last week, Polster approved the formation of an entity that gives every U.S. city and county a stake in any settlement that may be reached with a defendant.

Many state attorneys general were against Polster’s decision, fearing that their state-level cases would be undermined. In his opinion approving the so-called negotiating class, Polster wrote that the process does not interfere with states settling their own cases in any way that they want.

What the payout from any of the defendants will ultimately be and how many separate and consolidated cases it will involve remains unknown.

Based on a formula created by the attorneys representing the plaintiffs, though, any cities and counties that choose to participate in the newly certified settlement process would receive a payout based on how much harm they suffered at the expense of the opioid crisis.

Of every hypothetical $1 billion that is part of a settlement, here’s the share that Kennesaw would receive:

• Cobb County: $1,009,192
• Acworth: $17,625
• Kennesaw: $25,235

Read more about the settlement process.