JPML Refuses to Send Va. Drywall Coverage Action to MDL 2047

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation has again rejected an attempt by Plaintiffs' Liaison Counsel in the Chinese Drywall MDL to have an insurance coverage case transferred to New Orleans. Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co., et al. v. The Overlook LLC, No. 10-69 (E.D. Va./JPML).

In an order issued Feb. 3, the JPML held - as it has in several recent decisions - that the common factual backdrop shared among drywall-related coverage actions and cases in MDL 2047 is insufficient to warrant transfer.

The PLC and plaintiffs' lead counsel moved in October to designate the Virginia declaratory judgment …