MDL Court Agrees to Dismiss 11 Plaintiffs Who Agreed to Limit Damages

CLEVELAND - The presiding judge in the federal Welding Fumes multidistrict litigation has dismissed cases filed on behalf of 11 Texas plaintiffs who stipulated that they are not seeking judgments that would reach the $75,000 threshold for federal court jurisdiction. In re: Welding Fume Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 1535 (N.D. Ohio).

Judge Kathleen M. O'Malley of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio said in a March 25 order that case law supports dismissal of claims for lack of jurisdiction (Captain v. Wal-Mart Stores East, Inc., 2010 WL 4875702 [S.D. Ohio Oct. 7, 2010]).

Judge O'Malley …