The ultimate goal of all companies is to reach a so-called global settlement to resolve all the cases still on the runway in federal and state courts. On Monday morning, the drug distributors, Teva and other companies were still working to reach a global deal worth nearly $50 billion in cash and donated addiction treatments. Talks to do so had reached an impasse on Friday but people familiar with the negotiations said on Monday that they were continuing. In announcing the settlement of the Ohio trial in court on Monday morning, Judge Polster appeared to nudge the parties to keep working. “I did not encourage the settlement of this trial only,” he said, noting that the parties and negotiators were in the courthouse all day Friday and into the evening to discuss the larger settlement.

Source: New York Times October 21, 2019 12:21 UTC