Maryland Judge Rejects Bid to Consolidate Thousands of Asbestos Cases for Trial

BALTIMORE –– A Maryland trial court has rejected a plaintiff proposal to consolidate thousands of asbestos cases for trial, saying that it has “little faith” that the plan would improve the operation of the city’s asbestos docket.

However, in the March 5 opinion, Judge John M. Glynn of the Maryland Circuit Court for Baltimore City opined that his decision should not “foreclose discussion” of the issue of consolidation and should, instead, prompt “meaningful consideration of the current state of the asbestos docket,” including a look at alternatives implemented in other jurisdictions.

In the 43-page opinion, Judge Glynn wrote that …