Defense Admits Discovery Mistakes in Ongoing Solis Trial

CLEVELAND - Transcripts from the first welding fume MDL trial show the defendants admitting fault in failing to timely produce documents to the plaintiffs, blaming their "legitimate mistake" on database errors. Solis v. Lincoln Electric Co., et al., No. 04-cv-17363; In re: Welding Fume Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 1535 (N.D. Ohio).

On June 13 - the seventh day of Ernesto Solis' trial - plaintiff's counsel raised concerns to Judge Kathleen M. O'Malley about the defendants' recent court-ordered document production. Defense counsel confessed that "there was a mistake in the way" documents were labeled as privileged.

The dispute arose over …