Motion Requests Consolidation of 11 West Virginia Welding Rod Complaints

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Plaintiffs in 11 complaints pending before different judges in West Virginia have filed a motion to consolidate, claiming that separate discovery would cause unnecessary delay of the proceedings. Skiles v. Lincoln Electric Co., et al., No. 03-C-2299 (W.Va. Cir. Ct., Kanawha Cty.).

The motion, filed on Jan. 5 in the West Virginia Circuit Court of Kanawha County, also stated that the argument sufficiently fits the four-pronged test required by West Virginia law in consolidating complaints.

The first complaint, Skiles v. Lincoln Electric Co, et al., was filed on September 23, 2003. The plaintiffs claim that ten more …