The industry wants to avoid a prohibitively costly bill, and the retailers and distributors Online Cigarettes Store USA faulted Polster for saying it was his "personal mission" to address the crisis.
Ohio's Cuyahoga and Summit countries are the only plaintiffs in the Oct. 21 trial in Cleveland, the first in a federal court over the crisis. Defendants include the four drug distributors, Walgreens and drugmaker Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.
The counties' lawyers said in a statement they remained committed "whether through Newport Pleasure negotiation or litigation" to help communities address the opioid epidemic, and Polster was being "pragmatic" in encouraging a settlement.
In letting Polster stay on, the appeals court said judges in complex cases were encouraged to pursue settlements early.
It admonished the judge to be more careful talking to the press and in court, saying his comments may "in isolation" appear to reflect bias though they did not warrant recusal.
"We do not encourage Judge Polster to continue these actions," especially in "a case of such enormous public interest and significance," the court said.Rapper Birdman closed several banks accounts, which prevented his ex-employee from collecting on $1 million owed.
According to court documents obtained by The Blast, Birdman shut down 7 accounts he held with Citibank on August 31, 2019.
Citibank revealed the information in Birdman’s legal battle with his ex-employee, Nicolas Jose Newport 100s Box Penzo.
Last month, a Florida judge granted a default judgment against Birdman in the amount of of $1,069,876. The money was awarded to Penzo, who is now trying to collect.