Defense Counsel Proposes Reform Plan for Baltimore City Asbestos Docket

BALTIMORE — Defense counsel told Maryland lawmakers that more than half of the 30,000 cases pending on the Baltimore asbestos docket are non-viable, warranting implementation of a reform plan that would recalibrate the docket to focus on sick plaintiffs with viable cases.

On Nov. 7, Mark Behrens of Shook Hardy & Bacon, testifying on behalf of the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform, told the Maryland House Judiciary Committee that the plan, devised by the judge overseeing the federal asbestos litigation, would clear the docket of weak or meritless cases that deplete resources and force defendant companies into bankruptcy.

“Maryland …