KINGSPORT, Tennessee — The next steps in a federal lawsuit against Domtar Corp. over Kingsport odor are to determine whether or not the lawsuit can proceed as a “class-action” lawsuit, according to legal documents. Two Kingsport residents and Domtar, the plaintiffs and the defendant, respectively, are expected to attend private mediation over the lawsuit by Dec. 15. Both parties agreed to separate parts of the lawsuit into different phases — whether the lawsuit should move forward as a class-action lawsuit, and the merits issue of the case — “for purposes of efficiency and to make this case significantly more manageable,” according to legal documents. The latest document related to the case available in PACER, an electronic database that provides public access to federal court documents, outlines deadlines throughout 2027 to litigate the lawsuit’s class designation.