Defendants Claim Plaintiffs Worked on Navy Ships, Fraudulently Joined Defendants

CLEVELAND -- Defendants involved in the welding rod MDL have opposed a brief filed by the plaintiffs that challenged the court's jurisdiction over several of the pending cases. In re: Welding Rod Products Liability Litigation, MDL Docket No. 1535 (N.D. Ohio).

In the Nov. 8 opposition filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, the defendants argued that a number of the plaintiffs have already withdrawn their objection to the court's jurisdiction over their claims and the remaining plaintiffs have either worked on government-regulated ships or have fraudulently joined defendants to their lawsuits.

In May, Judge …