N.C. Judge Refuses to Transfer RICO Cases Asserted by Garlock Against Asbestos Plaintiff Firms

CHARLOTTE, N.C. –– The federal court overseeing the RICO cases filed against a number of asbestos plaintiffs’ firms has denied the defendants’ efforts to transfer the cases to numerous venues across the country, finding that there were “substantial efficiencies to be gained in one court hearing all of these actions.”

In the March 9 order, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina wrote that if the motions were granted, three or four separate courts would have to hear the claims, which would create a “heightened risk of inconsistent outcomes.”

The lawsuits were originally filed in …