Feds asks to join settlement talks over opioid lawsuits

CLEVELAND – The U.S. Department of Justice wants to join settlement talks in federal court involving hundreds of lawsuits against manufacturers and distributors of opioid painkillers.

The government says it can provide information and expertise to parties in the case and facilitate requests to government agencies including the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Food and Drug Administration.

The government made a request to join as a “friend of the court” in a filing before U.S. District Judge Dan Polster in Cleveland on Monday.

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions says the government is determined to see justice done and the nation’s “unprecedented drug crisis” ended.

More than 400 cities and counties across the country have sued drug makers and distributors for costs associated with the addiction crisis.