Federal MDL Court Won't Delay Discovery or Trials for Mediation

CLEVELAND - U.S. District Judge Kathleen M. O'Malley said May 12 that she has not ordered mediation of cases or issues in the federal welding fume MDL and won't delay discovery or trials if mediation does occur. In Re: Welding Fume Products Liability Litigation, No. 1:03-CV-17000 [MDL Docket 1535] (N.D. Ohio).

Judge O'Malley, who presides over the Welding Fume Products Liability Litigation in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, said she was issuing the order "to end inappropriate speculation and to make the record clear."

Two plaintiffs in a Louisiana case recently cited the potential for …