Consolidation of Cases Satisfies Mass Litigation Panel Request, Plaintiffs Claim

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A defendants' motion to refer the West Virginia welding rod litigation to a mass litigation panel is moot because of the pending transfer of 11 cases to a court where a complaint with 2,400 plaintiffs is currently docketed, a plaintiffs' response to the recent motion contends. Adames, et al., v. AGA Gas, Inc., et al., No. 03-C-115(M) (W.Va. Cir. Ct., Marshall Cty.).; Skiles v. Lincoln Electric Company, et al., No. 03-C-2299 (W.Va. Cir. Ct., Kanawha Cty.).

In a brief filed on March 17 in the West Virginia Circuit Court for Kanawha County, the plaintiffs say that the …