Defendants in Opioid MDL Seek to Stay Proceedings Pending 6th Cir. Rulings

CLEVELAND — Defendant drug makers and distributors in the federal opioid MDL have moved to stay proceedings pending the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ ruling on the State of Ohio’s petition to stop or delay the upcoming bellwether trial.

In an Oct. 1 motion filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, defendants argued that the litigation should be stayed pending final resolution of the petition “to avoid the risk of a significant waste of resources of the Court, parties, and the jury.”

The bellwether trial is scheduled to begin on Oct. 21, with …