Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Administrative Judge John Herron has issued an order revising the court’s mass tort and asbestos program procedures, which, according to the order, were not meeting American Bar Association standards and thus led to delays in disposition of these disputes and an “astonishing” increase in filings from outside the state. Among other matters, the order stops reverse bifurcation of any mass tort case unless all counsel agree, defers all punitive damage claims in mass tort cases, limits pro hoc vice counsel to no more than two trials per year, and requires the grouping of pending asbestos cases involving the same laws, disease categories and plaintiffs’ law firm.
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Mass tort and asbestos procedures overhauled in besieged Philadelphia courts
- Shook Hardy & Bacon LLP
- Gary Long, Greg Fowler and Simon Castley
- USA
- February 23 2012
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Sonja Sarantis
Legal Counsel
State Street Bank and Trust Company