National opioid settlement could be hard sell

CLEVELAND (AP) — A group of state attorneys general is pushing officials from other state and local governments to accept a $48 billion deal to settle all the opioid-related lawsuits against two drugmakers and the three biggest distributors.

But it’s not going to be an easy sell.

In a statement Monday, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said the deal, described as a framework, is “a pile of lumber that’s been dropped on the construction site.”

The attorneys general reiterated the key points Monday of a deal that was in the works but not completed last week.

Their public push for it came hours after four of the five companies involved announced a narrow settlement with the Ohio counties of Cuyahoga and Summit to avert a trial that would have begun Monday.