MDL Judge Rejects Challenge to Stay Provision of INEX Settlement

NEW ORLEANS - The federal Chinese drywall MDL judge has ruled that he acted within his authority to initiate a stay of conflicting state court claims against Interior Exterior Building Supply as part of an order preliminarily approving a global settlement between the drywall supplier, plaintiffs, and the company's insurers. In Re: Chinese-Manufactured Drywall Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2047 (E.D. La.).

Judge Eldon E. Fallon of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana ruled June 9 that a stay of cases outside of the federal coordinated proceedings fit within an exception to the Anti-Injunction Act that …