The Justice Department said in a brief it wanted to participate in
talks overseen by a federal judge in Cleveland as a "friend of the
court" that would provide information to help craft non-monetary
remedies to combat the opioid crisis.
"We are determined to see that justice is done in this case and that
ultimately we end this nation's unprecedented drug crisis," U.S.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a statement.
Last month, the Justice Department asked U.S. District Judge Dan
Polster for 30 days to decide whether to participate in the
litigation given the costs the federal government had incurred
because of the opioid epidemic.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2018/Apr/03/images/ads/current/remington_daily_sda_022614.png)
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
opioids were involved in over 42,000 overdose deaths in 2016. U.S.
President Donald Trump has called for litigation against companies
over their roles in the opioid epidemic.
But Monday's brief signaled that the Justice Department would not be
seeking to participate as an active litigant in the litigation
before Polster, who is overseeing at least 433 opioid-related
lawsuits brought primarily by cities and counties.
The lawsuits generally accuse drugmakers of deceptively marketing
opioids and allege distributors ignored red flags indicating the
painkillers were being diverted for improper uses. The defendants
have denied wrongdoing.
Polster has been pushing for a global settlement and has invited
state attorneys general who have cases and probes not before him to
participate in the negotiations.
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The defendants include drugmakers Purdue Pharma LP, Johnson &
Johnson, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, Endo International PLC
and Allergan PLC and distributors AmerisourceBergen Corp, Cardinal
Health Inc and McKesson Corp.
In Monday's brief, the Justice Department said that while it was
pursuing opioid-related criminal and civil cases, it would not be
proper to consolidate them with the lawsuits before Polster.
Nevertheless, it said the federal government could provide
information to assist in crafting a settlement.
The Justice Department noted the U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration had already agreed to produce data on the names and
market shares of opioid manufacturers and distributors in each
state.
The department said it also had an interest in facilitating
discussions about the parties' "legal obligations" given the federal
government's own substantial financial stake in fighting the
epidemic.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2018/Apr/03/images/ads/current/ldn_medical_directory_small2.png)
(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Tom Brown and Peter
Cooney)
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