Federal Class Action Consolidated in New Orleans

A few days ago, all of the class actions that have been filed throughout the country on behalf of victims who have toxic Chinese drywall in their homes were centralized in New Orleans. Basically, this means that most, if not all, of the pre-trial proceedings for these cases will be decided by a Federal Judge in New Orleans. This will be true even for cases that were filed in Federal courts here in Florida on behalf of Florida victims.

This was one of the dangers with Federal class actions that our firm has been discussing with victims. Our firm has been warning victims that if they joined a class action that they would be forced to file in Federal Court and could be subject to this type of consolidation order. Although there will be Florida attorneys on the executive and steering committees, this consolidation order will present unique difficulties for attorneys who are representing Florida victims. One consideration is how this will effect the costs of litigation. Typically, in a contingency fee contract, the client pays the costs of the litigation after attorney fees are taken from the settlement or award. Therefore, a Florida attorney who has to repeatedly travel to New Orleans for pre-trial proceedings will incur substantial travel costs. Another consideration is time. The fact that multiple class action lawsuits from all around the country involving a number of attorneys from all around the country have been consolidated in one central location will certainly make it far more difficult to bring this matter to a quick and efficient resolution. Remember the old saying, justice delayed is justice denied.

Our firm accounted for this possibility by filing individual lawsuits for victims in Florida state court. We believe that this will give our clients the best opportunity to seek justice efficiently and in a cost effective manner. The lawsuits that we have filed on behalf of the victims we represent will not be sent to New Orleans for adjudication. The lawsuits that we have filed will not be part of this consolidated action. The judges and jury for these cases will be made up of people from around your community. There will not be multiple attorneys from all around the country fighting over every issue. This has been our strategy from the very beginning of this tragedy.