Insurance Coverage Cases Can Proceed Absent Subcontractors, Judge Rules

NEW ORLEANS - Several defendants named in Chinese drywall litigation may proceed with coverage actions they filed in the MDL, even though the cases do not name subcontractors that the insurers say are indispensable parties. In Re: Chinese Manufactured Drywall Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2047 (E.D. La.).

In a Feb. 9 decision, Drywall MDL Judge Eldon E. Fallon denied the insurers' motion to dismiss and held that the subcontractors' absence from the litigation does not create a risk of depleting available insurance proceeds or inconsistent rulings from additional litigation.

"The Court can alleviate many of the insurers' concerns by …