http://www.lexisnexis.com/mealeys/news.aspx Headline Welding Rods Legal News from LexisNexis® en-us http://www.lexisnexis.com/mealeys/images/lexismealeyslogo.gif 130 29 http://www.lexisnexis.com/mealeys/news.aspx Copyright 2012 http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-9%20Mealey%27s%20Litig%20Report%20Welding%20Rods%201%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' CLEVELAND - The Mississippi welder with one of the final cases in the consolidated welding fume products liability litigation in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio agreed Nov. 14 to participate in the global settlement agreement reached in January in the multidistrict litigation (James H. Baxter, et uxor, v. Lincoln Electric Co., et al., No. 08-17037, N.D. Ohio; See November 2012, Page 7). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-9%20Mealey%27s%20Litig%20Report%20Welding%20Rods%202%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' MADISON, Wis. - A unanimous District IV Wisconsin Court of Appeals panel issued an opinion Nov. 29 affirming an award of workers' compensation benefits for 20 percent disability from occupational manganese exposure (Hooper Corp., et al. v. Labor & Industry Review Commission, et al., No. 12-973, Wis. App. Dist. IV; 2012 Wisc. App. LEXIS 936). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-9%20Mealey%27s%20Litig%20Report%20Welding%20Rods%203%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' OAKLAND, Calif. - A January case management conference was scheduled Dec. 6 in the Oakland Bay Bridge Skyway project personal injury litigation coordinated in the Alameda County, Calif., Superior Court if the case is not fully disposed under terms of the August order to disburse a $1.4 million settlement fund; welding consumables manufacturers were dismissed in June (Welding Products Cases, No. JCCP004368, Calif. Super., Alameda Co.; See September 2012, Page 10). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-9%20Mealey%27s%20Litig%20Report%20Welding%20Rods%204%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The loss of consortium claim alleged by the spouse of an Indiana worker suing for burn injuries he alleges were caused by the design of a plasma torch and the work shirt he was wearing at the time of the injury was dismissed Nov. 26 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana with regard to the alleged seller of the torch (Rex Hathaway, et uxor v. Cintas Corporate Services Inc., et al., No. 10-195, N.D. Ind.; 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 146233; See November 2012, Page 5). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-9%20Mealey%27s%20Litig%20Report%20Welding%20Rods%205%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' OXFORD, Miss. - The unopposed motion by a Mississippi employer sued in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi for allegedly failing to provide a safe work environment and, as a result, exposing its employee to hexavalent chromium in welding fumes was granted Dec. 3; the trial is now scheduled for Nov. 4, 2013, in Aberdeen, Miss. (Pinnacle Trust Co. v. Babcock & Wilcox Power Generation Group Inc., et al., No. 11-2, N.D. Miss.; See November 2012, Page 6). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig%20Report%20Welding%20Rods%201%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The work shirt providers sued in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana for burn injuries allegedly caused by the failure of a cotton uniform shirt to serve as expected were granted summary judgment Oct. 11 with regard to breach of warranty and products liability claims; the negligence claim survives (Rex Hathaway, et uxor v. Cintas Corporate Services Inc., et al., No. 10-195, N.D. Ind.; 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 146233; See October 2012, Page 6). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig%20Report%20Welding%20Rods%202%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The Indiana worker suing for burn injuries he alleges were caused by the design of a plasma torch and the work shirt he was wearing at the time of the incident was ordered Oct. 12 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana to produce evidence within 30 days to support his loss of consortium claim against the seller of the torch (Rex Hathaway, et uxor v. Cintas Corporate Services Inc., et al., No. 10-195, N.D. Ind.; See October 2012, Page 6; See related story in this issue). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig%20Report%20Welding%20Rods%203%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' OXFORD, Miss. - The estate of the deceased welder suing the decedent's employer in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi for allegedly failing to provide a safe work environment and as a result exposing its employee to hexavalent chromium in welding fumes indicated in an Oct. 17 response that it does not oppose a defense motion to continue the trial 120 days (Pinnacle Trust Co. v. Babcock & Wilcox Power Generation Group Inc., et al., No. 11-2, N.D. Miss.; See October 2012, Page 10). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig%20Report%20Welding%20Rods%204%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' CLEVELAND - The umbrella insurance carriers sued in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio by The Lincoln Electric Co. for a declaratory judgment and money damages for allegedly failing to reimburse costs related to welding fume personal injury products liability claims were granted by minute entry on Nov. 1 an unopposed motion to continue because of the effects of Hurricane Sandy on New York (The Lincoln Electric Co. v. Travelers Casualty & Surety Co., et al., No. 11-2253, N.D. Ohio; See October 2012, Page 20). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig%20Report%20Welding%20Rods%205%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' CLEVELAND - Arguments for delaying the Nov. 27 trial in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio by the Mississippi welder with one of the final cases in the consolidated welding fume products liability litigation are without merit, the presiding judge concluded in an Oct. 18 order (James H. Baxter, et uxor, v. Lincoln Electric Co., et al., No. 08-17037, N.D. Ohio; See October 2012, Page 11; See related story in this issue). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig%20Report%20Welding%20Rods%206%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' CLEVELAND - The judge presiding over one of the final cases in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio welding fume products liability multidistrict litigation issued an order on Nov. 7 denying a motion by the plaintiffs for recusal of the special master in the case (James H. Baxter, et uxor, v. Lincoln Electric Co., et al., No. 08-17037, N.D. Ohio; See October 2012, Page 11, and related story in this issue). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig%20Report%20Welding%20Rods%207%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' CLEVELAND - The claims administrator in the welding fume products liability multidistrict litigation in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, who is also the special master in one of the remaining actions in the litigation, filed an objection Oct. 19 to a subpoena duces tecum served on him Sept. 27 for information about settlement fund allocations (James H. Baxter, et uxor, v. Lincoln Electric Co., et al., No. 08-17037, N.D. Ohio; See October 2012, Page 12; See related story in this issue). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig%20Report%20Welding%20Rods%208%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' CLEVELAND - Summary judgment for lack of product identification was granted Oct. 24 for defendants The BOC Group Inc., and claims against it were dismissed with prejudice Oct. 25 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio welding fume products liability lawsuit scheduled for trial in November; after considering supplemental pleadings, the presiding judge entered no-identification final judgment on Nov. 7 for The ESAB Group Inc. (James H. Baxter, et uxor, v. Lincoln Electric Co., et al., No. 08-17037, N.D. Ohio; See October 2012, Page 11, and related story in this issue). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig%20Report%20Welding%20Rods%209%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' CLEVELAND - The Mississippi plaintiffs with one of the last cases in the welding fume products liability multidistrict litigation in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio on Nov. 6 moved to enjoin enforcement of the global settlement concluded by the parties in January (James H. Baxter, et uxor, v. Lincoln Electric Co., et al., No. 08-17037, N.D. Ohio; See October 2012, Page 11, and related story in this issue). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig%20Report%20Welding%20Rods%2010%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Mississippi welder denied remand Sept. 27 by the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation filed a petition Oct. 22 in the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals for a mandamus order requiring the JPMDL to remand his case for trial in the Southern District of Mississippi (In re James Baxter, et uxor v. Lincoln Electric Co., et al., No. 12-4241, 6th Cir.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig%20Report%20Welding%20Rods%2011%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' CLEVELAND - The Mississippi welder expected to present his welding fume products liability claims Nov. 27 to a jury in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio filed responses Nov. 8 in opposition to defense motions to exclude evidence of his Social Security disability claim and the testimony of fact and expert witnesses he named in supplemental witness lists filed Oct. 26 (James H. Baxter, et uxor v. Lincoln Electric Co., et al., No. 08-17037, N.D. Ohio; See October 2012, Page 11; See related story in this issue). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig%20Report%20Welding%20Rods%2012%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' CLEVELAND - The Mississippi welder expected to present his welding fume products liability claims on Nov. 27 to a jury in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio filed a response on Nov. 1 in opposition to a defense motion to exclude the testimony of his medical causation witness; the defendants misrepresent the medical science in the multidistrict welding fume litigation, according to the welder (James H. Baxter, et uxor, v. Lincoln Electric Co., et al., No. 08-17037, N.D. Ohio; See October 2012, Page 11, and related story in this issue). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig%20Report%20Welding%20Rods%2013%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' CLEVELAND - The Missouri welder suing a holding company in one of the remaining active lawsuits in the welding fume products liability litigation consolidated the U.S. District Court for the Northern District Court of Ohio avers in an Oct. 12 reply in support of reconsidering the order dismissing her claims the response filed Oct. 2 by the defendant should be disregarded because it is untimely (In re: Welding Fume Products Liability Litigation $(Janice Emerson, No. 09-17066$), MDL 1535, No. 03-17000, N.D. Ohio; See October 2012, Page 18). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-7%20Mealey%27s%20Litig%20Report%20Welding%20Rods%201%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' BATON ROUGE, La. - A unanimous Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal panel issued an opinion Sept. 21 affirming temporary workers' compensation benefits for a welder who complained that exposure to metal alloy fumes caused him to develop pneumonia secondary to bronchiolitis obliterans; it found no merit in the welder's argument that the lung condition is permanent (Edward Blake v. Turner Industries Group, No. 12-140, La. App., 1st Cir.; 2012 L. App. LEXIS 1180). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-7%20Mealey%27s%20Litig%20Report%20Welding%20Rods%202%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' OAKLAND, Calif. - The Oct. 15 trial in the Oakland Bay Bridge Skyway project personal injury litigation coordinated in the Alameda County, Calif., Superior Court was cancelled Oct. 3 to permit the parties to file documents closing the litigation; claims against welding consumables manufacturers were dismissed in June (Welding Products Cases, No. JCCP004368, Calif. Super., Alameda Co.; See September 2012, Page 4). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-7%20Mealey%27s%20Litig%20Report%20Welding%20Rods%203%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' FORT WAYNE, Ind. - A retailer accused of selling a plasma torch that caused a plaintiff's work shirt to burn was granted a no-evidence summary judgment Sept. 28 in respect to the negligence claim in litigation pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana (Rex Hathaway, et uxor v. Cintas Corporate Services Inc., et al., No. 10-195, N.D. Ind.; See May 2012, Page 13; See related story in this issue.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-7%20Mealey%27s%20Litig%20Report%20Welding%20Rods%204%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The express warranty claim against the manufacturer of a plasma torch that caused a plaintiff's work shirt to burn was dismissed Sept. 26 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, but the manufacturer of the plasma torch was denied summary judgment with respect to the negligence claim because the plaintiff presented evidence that the plasma torch may be unreasonably dangerous (Rex Hathaway, et uxor v. Cintas Corporate Services Inc., et al., No. 10-195, N.D. Ind.; 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 138000; See May 2012, Page 13). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-7%20Mealey%27s%20Litig%20Report%20Welding%20Rods%205%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' OXFORD, Miss. - The estate of a deceased welder who died of cancer after allegedly being exposed to hexavalent chromium in welding fumes was ordered Sept. 12 to review medical records produced by the North Mississippi Medical Center in response to a defense subpoena to determine if the records are subject to medical privilege in a wrongful death suit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi; Magistrate Judge S. Allan Alexander issued the order (Pinnacle Trust Co. v. Babcock & Wilcox Power Generation Group Inc., et al., No. 11-2, N.D. Miss.; See September 2012, Page 6). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-7%20Mealey%27s%20Litig%20Report%20Welding%20Rods%206%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' OXFORD, Miss. - The employer sued in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi by the estate of a deceased welder who died of cancer after allegedly being exposed to hexavalent chromium in welding fumes moved Oct. 3 to continue the discovery and trial deadlines by 120 days; the trial is scheduled to begin Feb. 19, 2013 (Pinnacle Trust Co. v. Babcock & Wilcox Power Generation Group Inc., et al., No. 11-2, N.D. Miss.; See September 2012, Page 6, and related story in this issue). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-7%20Mealey%27s%20Litig%20Report%20Welding%20Rods%207%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW YORK - The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation on Sept. 27 denied a motion to remand the last active case in the national consolidated welding fume products liability litigation in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio (In re: Welding Fume Products Liability Litigation, MDL 1535, JPMDL; See September 2012, Page 11). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-7%20Mealey%27s%20Litig%20Report%20Welding%20Rods%208%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' CLEVELAND - The judge in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio assigned the final active failure to warn welding fume products liability case in the multidistrict litigation ordered the parties on Sept. 25 to submit letter briefs regarding whether the special master appointed in July should be removed from the case; the case is scheduled for trial on Nov. 27 in Cleveland (James H. Baxter, et uxor, v. Lincoln Electric Co., et al., No. 08-17037, N.D. Ohio; See August 2012, Page 5, and related story in this issue). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-7%20Mealey%27s%20Litig%20Report%20Welding%20Rods%209%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' CLEVELAND - A subpoena filed Oct. 4 in the final active failure-to-warn welding fume products liability case in the multidistrict litigation in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio suggests that a dispute over the special master appointed in July arises from recoupment awards under the global resolution agreement that resolved most of the claims; the defendants filed a motion the same day to compel the welder's treating physician to comply with a subpoena to produce medical records (James H. Baxter, et uxor, v. Lincoln Electric Co., et al., No. 08-17037, N.D. Ohio; See August 2012, Page 5; See related story in this issue). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-7%20Mealey%27s%20Litig%20Report%20Welding%20Rods%2010%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' CLEVELAND - The welder with one of the remaining active cases in the multidistrict litigation in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio characterizes a defense motion to hold a treating physician in contempt for failing to produce medical records as unreasonable in a response filed Oct. 5; the welder seeks to recover the cost of responding to the motion (James H. Baxter, et uxor, v. Lincoln Electric Co., et al., No. 08-17037, N.D. Ohio; See August 2012, Page 5; See related story in this issue). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-7%20Mealey%27s%20Litig%20Report%20Welding%20Rods%2011%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' CLEVELAND - The parent company of a welding consumables manufacturer named in one of the remaining active lawsuits in the welding fume products liability litigation consolidated the U.S. District Court for the Northern District Court of Ohio filed a response on Oct. 2 in opposition to a motion by the plaintiff to reconsider dismissal of her personal injury claims for lack of personal jurisdiction; the plaintiff fails to meet the burden for reconsideration, according to the defendant (In re: Welding Fume Products Liability Litigation $(Janice Emerson, No. 09-17066$), MDL 1535, No. 03-17000, N.D. Ohio; See related story in this issue). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-7%20Mealey%27s%20Litig%20Report%20Welding%20Rods%2012%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' CLEVELAND - The umbrella insurance carriers sued in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio by The Lincoln Electric Co. for a declaratory judgment and money damages for allegedly failing to reimburse costs related to welding fume personal injury products liability claims were granted leave on Sept. 28 to file under seal an answer and counterclaims; the insurers filed counterclaims Sept. 28 for declaratory judgment against Lincoln Electric (The Lincoln Electric Co. v. Travelers Casualty & Surety Co., et al., No. 11-2253, N.D. Ohio; See September 2012, Page 16).