Boca Raton Personal Injury Lawyers Blog | Ellis, Ged & Bodden P.A.

New Orleans federal district court judge Eldon Fallon knows how to manage mass torts. He's the judge, after all, who oversaw the $4.85 billion settlement of Vioxx claims against Merck in 2007. So we were quite intrigued to see this story in the Miami Daily Business Review, outlining Fallon's plan for the 600-case multidistrict litigation involving allegedly sulfur-emitting Chinese-made drywall.

Fallon intends to begin trying bellwether cases before the end of the year, according to the Daily Business Review. Working with members of the defense and plaintiffs steering committees, he will pick five representative cases to test plaintiffs claims that the drywall in their houses is defective."

Fast-tracking is an understatement. It's a rocket docket. And he means business," plaintiffs steering committee member Ervin Gonzalez of Colson Hicks Eidson told the DBR. "He wants the first case tried by the end of the year, and he wants an inspection of every home. He wants to be able to get to the bottom of the problem."

Plaintiffs' lawyers told the DBR that Fallon's fast track to trial will encourage homeowners to consider settling their cases, but one of the lead drywall defendants, Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin said Fallon's inspection order and a requirement that all claimants fill out fact sheets "will substantially narrow the scope of the litigation and finally put to rest the speculation as to the number of homes that are impacted by Chinese drywall."

If you or a loved one is a victim of an injury caused by a defective and unreasonably dangerous product, contact the law offices of Ellis, Ged & Bodden now. The legal team at Ellis, Ged & Bodden have the experience and resources to both preserve and pursue your claim and will work to recover fair and reasonable compensation for your injuries. The law provides a limited time period during which you have the right to bring a defective product or product liability claim. So act now to protect your legal rights. The initial consultation is free of charge.