Court Accepts Stipulation that Plaintiffs Won't Call Lincoln CEO

CLEVELAND - Presiding MDL Judge Kathleen M. O'Malley has denied a motion by attorneys for Lincoln Electric to bar further depositions of CEO John Stropki, relying on plaintiffs' assertion that they have no plans to call Stropki absent some "extraordinary change" in circumstances. In Re: Welding Fume Products Liability Litigation, No. 1:03-CV-17000 [MDL No. 1535] (N.D. Ohio).

The judge noted that the MDL defendant's motion to bar further depositions of its CEO, after a final, definitive session on videotape, stemmed from her ruling that Lincoln representative Carl Peters could not testify to statements he heard Stropki make, because it would …