The owners of seven Virginia homes contaminated with toxic Chinese drywall have been awarded $2.6 million by the federal judge overseeing the Chinese drywall multidistrict litigation (MDL) currently underway in New Orleans. The trial was considered a "bellwether" or test case, and the decision could affect how lawsuits by thousands of other homeowners are settled.
To review full Chinese Manufactured Drywall Products Liability Litigation - Findings of Fact and Conclusions Of Law --Click Here.
Chinese Drywall Plaintiff Steering Committee
Date: September 2nd, 2009Welcome to Chinese Drywall Plaintiffs' Steering Committee web site. This Web site has been appointed by U.S. District Judge Eldon E. Fallon as the information center for the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee for the Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) 2047, the Chinese-Manufactured Drywall Products Liability Litigation.
This Web site was developed in order to keep plaintiffs and the general public informed about the progress of the Chinese drywall litigation currently underway in Federal court in New Orleans, Louisiana. The content of this Web site will be updated on a regular basis, so please visit periodically to stay current on the latest developments in this litigation.
On June 15, 2009, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation entered its Transfer Order consolidating all pending Chinese Drywall lawsuits filed around the country in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. U.S. District Judge Eldon E. Fallon is presiding over the consolidated Chinese-Manufactured Drywall Products Liability Litigation. Judge Fallon has served on the Federal bench since 1995, and is a veteran of this type of mass litigation. Most recently, Judge Fallon oversaw a settlement in the consolidated class action against the manufacturer of the drug Vioxx.
Judge Fallon has put the Chinese drywall litigation on a "fast-track," and plans to start trying bellwether cases by January 2010. Judge Fallon has directed Plaintiffs' and Defendants' Steering Committees to select a total of approximately twenty (20) cases to potentially go to trial. The pool will then be narrowed to ten (10) cases, five (5) selected by each side, from which Judge Fallon will ultimately schedule six (6) for trial.
Multidistrict litigation is a procedure utilized in the Federal court system to transfer to one Federal judge all pending civil cases of a similar type filed throughout the United States. Such a consolidation avoids duplication of discovery, prevents inconsistent pretrial rulings, and conserves the resources of the parties, their counsel and the judiciary.
Each case in a Multidistrict Litigation retains its own identity. If the Multidistrict Litigation process does not resolve the cases, they are transferred back to the court where they originated for trial.
On July 27, 2009, Judge Fallon issued Pretrial Order #8, appointing 13 attorneys to the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee (PSC). Attorney Russ Herman, who was appointed Plaintiffs' Liaison Counsel by Judge Fallon in Pretrial Order #3 dated July 2, 2007, was also named an ex-officio member of the Committee. Attorney Arnold Levin serves as lead counsel of the PSC.
The PSC will, among other things, conduct and coordinate the discovery stage of this litigation with the defendants' representatives or committee. The Committee will also act as a spokesperson for all plaintiffs at pretrial proceedings and in response to any inquiries by the Court. Appointments to the PCS expire one year from the date of Judge Fallon's order; however members may apply to be reappointed at that time.
Names and Contact Information for Attorneys Appointed to the Chinese Drywall Products Liability Litigation PCS.
Russ Herman (Liaison Counsel)
Herman, Herman, Katz & Cotlar, LLP
820 O'Keefe Avenue, Suite 100
New Orleans, LA 70113
Phone: (504) 581-4892
Fax: (504) 561-6024
Dawn M. Barrios
Barrios, Kingsdorf and Casteix, LLP
701 Poydras Street, Suite 3650
New Orleans, LA 70139
Phone: (504) 524-3300
Fax: (504) 524-3313
Daniel E. Becnel, Jr.
Becnel Law Firm, LLC
425 W. Airline Highway, Suite B
Laplace, LA 70068
Phone: (985) 536-1186
Fax: (985) 536-6445
Victor Manuel Diaz
Podhurst Orseck P.A.
25 Flagler Street, 8th Floor
Miami, FL 33130
Phone: (305) 358-2800
Fax: (305) 358-2382
Ervin Amanda Gonzalez
Colson Hicks Eidson
255 Aragon Ave.
Cora Gables, FL 33134
Phone: (305) 476-7400
Fax: (305) 476-7444
Ben Gordon
Levin Papantonio Thomas Mitchell Echsner & Proctor, P.A.
316 S. Baylen Street, Suite 600
Pensacola, FL 32502
Phone: (850) 435-7090
Fax: (850) 436-6091
Hugh P. Lambert
Lambert & Nelson, PLC
701 Magazine Street
New Orleans, LA 70130
Phone: (504) 581-1750
Fax: (504) 529-2931
Arnold Levin
Levin Fishbein Sedran & Berman
510 Walnut Street, Suite 500
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Phone: (215) 592-1500
Fax: (215) 592-4663
Gerald E. Meunier
Gainsburgh Benjamin David Meunier & Warshauer L.L.C.
2800 Energy Centre, 100 Poydras St.
New Orleans, LA 70163-2800
Phone: (504) 522-2304
Fax: (504) 528-9973
Jerrold Seth Parker
Parker Waichman Alonso LLP
Bonita Springs, FL 34134
Phone: (239) 390-1000
Fax: (239) 390-0055
James Robert Reeves
Lumpkin & Reeves, PLLC
160 Main Street
Biloxi, MS 39530
Phone: (228) 374-5151
Fax: (228) 374-6630
Christopher Seeger
Seeger Weiss LLP
1 William Street
New York, NY 10004
Phone: (212) 584-0700
Fax: (212) 584-0799
Bruce William Steckler
Baron and Budd, P.C.
3102 Oak Lawn Ave., Suite 1100
Dallas, TX 75219
Phone: (214) 523-6674
Scott Weinstein
Morgan & Morgan, P.A.
12800 University Drive, Suite 600
Ft. Myers, FL 33907
Phone: (239) 433-6880
Fax: (239) 433-6836
Ex-Officio Members
Jeremy W. Alters
Alters, Boldt, Brown, Rash & Culmo, P.A.
4141 N.E. 2nd Avenue
Suite 201
Miami, FL 33137
Tel: 305-571-8550
Fax: 305-571-8558
Daniel Bryson
Lewis & Roberts
3700 Glenwood Ave.
Suite 410
Raleigh, NC 27612-5529
Tel: (919) 981-0191
Fax: (919) 981-0199
Richard Lewis
Hausfeld LLP
1700 K Street, NW Suite 650
Washington, DC 20006
Tel: 202.540.7200
Fax: 202.540.7201
Richard J. Serpe
Richard J. Serpe P.C.
580 E. Main St.
Suite 310
Norfolk, VA 23510
Tel: 877.544.5323
Fax: 757.233.0455