Judicial Panel Grants Plaintiffs’ Request for Pretrial Coordination of Class Action Lawsuits Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1407 and Transfers Class Actions to Eastern District of Louisiana
Four class action lawsuits were filed against various defendants alleging “that trailers – provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the wake of Hurricanes Rita and Katrina – contain materials which emit dangerous, excessive levels of formaldehyde.” In re FEMA Trailer Formaldehyde Prod. Liab. Litig., ___ F.Supp.2d ___ (Jud.Pan.Mult.Lit. October 24, 2007) [Slip Opn., at 1]. Plaintiff lawyers in one action pending in the Eastern District of Louisiana filed a motion with the Judicial Panel for Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) requesting centralization of the class actions pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1407 in that district, and all plaintiffs in the other class actions supported the motion. _Id._ Defense attorneys opposed pretrial coordination of the class action litigation, but supported plaintiffs’ choice of the Eastern District of Louisiana if the motion was granted. _Id._ The Judicial Panel granted the motion to centralize the class action lawsuits, concluding that this would “eliminate duplicative discovery; avoid inconsistent pretrial rulings, especially with respect to class certification; and conserve the resources of the parties, their counsel and the judiciary.” _Id._ Accordingly, the Panel ordered all class actions pending outside that district transferred to the Eastern District of Louisiana. _Id._, at 2.
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