| Members of the Plaintiffs Steering Committee (PSC) were appointed by Judge Fallon in Pretrial Oder #8, dated July 27, 2009. Judge Fallon also appointed Arnold Levin to be lead counsel of the PSC. Plaintiffs' Liaison Counsel, Russ Herman, was appointed as an ex-officiomember of the Committee. The appointment of the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee marks an important milestone in the progression of Chinese Drywall litigation. The Plaintiffs' Steering Committee 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. Judge Fallon's order follows below: | ||||||
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA |
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| THIS DOCUMENT RELATES TO ALL CASES | ||
| PRETRIAL ORDER #8 | ||
| Numerous applications/nominations for the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee (PSC) positions have been filed in accordance with the procedures set forth in Pretrial Order #1. The Court, after having reviewed the applications and carefully considered the matter, hereby appoints the following members to the PSC. | ||
| Dawn M. Barrios 701 Poydras Street, Suite 3650 New Orleans, LA 70139 Phone: (504) 524-3300 FAX: (504) 524-3313 |
Daniel E. Becnel, Jr 425 W. Airline Highway, Suite B Laplace, LA 70068 Phone: (985) 536-1186 FAX: (985) 536-6445 |
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| Victor Manuel Diaz 25 Flagler Street, 8th Floor Miami, FL 33130 Phone: (305) 358-2800 FAX: (305) 358-2382 |
Ervin Amanda Gonzalez 255 Aragon Avenue Cora Gables, FL 33134 Phone: (305) 476-7400 FAX: (305) 476-7444 |
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| Ben Gordon 316 S. Baylen Street, Suite 600 Pensacola, FL 32502 Phone: (850) 435-7090 FAX: (850) 436-6091 |
Hugh P. Lambert 701 Magazine Street New Orleans, LA 70130 Phone: (504) 581-1750 FAX: (504) 529-2931 |
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| Arnold Levin 510 Walnut Street, Suite 500 Philadelphia, PA 19106 Phone: (215) 592-1500 FAX: (215) 592-4663 |
Gerald E. Meunier 2800 Energy Centre, 1100 Poydras Street New Orleans, LA 70163-2800 Phone: (504) 522-2304 FAX: (504) 528-9973 |
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| Jerrold Seth Parker Bonita Springs, FL 34134 Phone: (239) 390-1000 FAX: (239) 390-0055 |
James Robert Reeves 160 Main Street Biloxi, MS 39530 Phone: (228) 374-5151 FAX: (228) 374-6630 |
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| Christopher Seeger 1 William Street New York, NY 10004 Phone: (212) 584-0700 FAX: (212) 584-0799 |
Bruce William Steckler 3102 Oak Lawn Ave., Suite 1100 Dallas, TX 75219 Phone: (214) 523-6674 |
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| Scott Weinstein 12800 University Drive, Suite 600 Ft. Meyers, FL 33907 Phone: (239) 433-6880 FAX: (239) 433-6836 |
Russ Herman (Liaison Counsel) 820 O'Keefe Avenue, Suite 100 New Orleans, LA 70113 Phone: (504) 581-4892 Fax: (504) 561-6024 |
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De Facto Members |
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| Jeremy W. Alters 4141 N.E. 2nd Avenue, Suite 201 Miami, FL 33137 Tel: 305-571-8550 Fax: 305-571-8558 |
Richard Lewis 1700 K Street, NW Suite 650 Washington, DC 20006 Tel: 202.540.7200 Fax: 202.540.7201 |
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| Daniel Bryson 3700 Glenwood Ave., Suite 410 Raleigh, NC 27612-5529 Tel: (919) 981-0191 Fax: (919) 981-0199 |
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| Additionally, the Court appoints Plaintiffs' Liaison Counsel, Russ Herman, as an ex-officio member of the Committee. | ||
| The Court appoints Arnold Levin to be lead counsel of the PSC. It shall be the lead counsel's duty, together with Plaintiff's Liaison Counsel, to coordinate the responsibilities of the PSC, schedule PSC meetings, keep minutes or transcripts of these meetings, appear at periodic court noticed status conferences, perform other necessary administrative or logistic functions of the PSC, and carry out any other duty as the Court may order. | ||
| The appointment to the PSC is of a personal nature. Accordingly, the above appointees cannot be substitute by other attorneys, including members of the appointee's law firm, to perform the PSC's exclusive functions, such as committee meetings and court appearances, except with prior approval of the Court. Furthermore, the appointment to the PSC is for one year from the date of this Order. Appointees may apply to be reappointed when their term expires. If or when they reapply, their application should contain references to the nature and scope of their work on the PSC, including the time and resources expended during the past term. | ||
The PSC will have the following responsibilities:
Discovery
1. Initiate, coordinate, and conduct all pretrial discovery on behalf of plaintiffs in all actions which are consolidated with the multi-district litigation.
2. Develop and propose to the Court schedules for the commencement, execution, and completion of all discovery on behalf of all plaintiffs. 3. Cause to be issued in the name of all plaintiffs the necessary discovery requests, motions, and subpoenas pertaining to any witnesses and documents needed to properly prepare for the pretrial of relevant issues found in the pleadings of this litigation. Similar requests, notices, and subpoenas may be caused to be issued by the PSC upon written request by the individual attorney in order to assist him/her in the preparation of the pretrial stages of his/her client's particular claims. 4. Conduct all discovery in a coordinated and consolidated manner on behalf and for the benefit of all plaintiffs.Hearings and Meetings
1. Call meetings of counsel for plaintiffs for any appropriate purpose, including coordinating responses to questions of other parties or of the Court. Initiate proposals, suggestions, schedules, or joint briefs, and any other appropriate matters pertaining to pretrial proceedings.
2. Examine witnesses and introduce evidence at hearings on behalf of plaintiffs. 3. Act as spokesperson for all plaintiffs at pretrial proceedings and in response to any inquiries by the Court, subject of course to the right of any plaintiff's counsel to present non-repetitive individual or different positions.Miscellaneous
1. Submit and argue any verbal or written motions presented to the Court or Magistrate on behalf of the PSC as well as oppose when necessary any motions submitted by the defendant or other parties which involve matters within the sphere of the responsibilities of the PSC.
2. Negotiate and enter into stipulations with Defendants regarding this litigation. All stipulations entered into by the PSC, except for strictly administrative details such as scheduling, must be submitted for Court approval and will not be binding until the Court has ratified the stipulation. Any attorney not in agreement with non-administrative stipulation shall file with the Court a written objection thereto within five (5) days after he/she knows or should have reasonably become aware of the stipulation. Failure to object within the term allowed shall be deemed a waiver and the stipulations will automatically be binding on that party. 3. Explore, develop, and pursue all settlement options pertaining to any claim or portion thereof of any case filed in this litigation. 4. Maintain adequate files of all pretrial matters, including establishing and maintaining a document or exhibit depository, in either real or virtual format, and having those documents available, under reasonable terms and conditions for all examinations by all MDL Plaintiffs or their attorneys. 5. Perform any task necessary and proper for the PSC to accomplish its responsibilities as defined by the Court's orders, including organizing sub-committees comprised of plaintiffs attorneys not on the PSC and assigning them tasks consistent with the duties of the PSC. Membership on these subcommittees shall be subject to the approval of the Court. Compensation for work by these subcommittees and the approved cost will be paid by common benefit funds. 6. Perform such other functions as may be expressly authorized by further orders of the Court.New Orleans, Louisiana, this 27th day of July, 2009
ELDON E. FALLON
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE