The parties agreed, and the Court directed, that an inspection protocol be established and that 25-30 inspections to occur over the next 30 days. After these initial inspections, the parties and the Court will review the protocol and expand the number and scope of the inspections. The parties are currently working on a profile form that, once approved by the Court, we will have 15 days to respond to the profile.

The Court also directed all parties to identify potential bellwether cases with 5 trials to occur early next year. Bellwether cases are actual trials of a small number of cases selected out of all of the pending cases to offer a picture of what a jury may decide in subsequent cases. It is very clear that the Court wants these cases moving.

The next status conference is scheduled for September 3, 2009 at 9:00 am in New Orleans. We will continue to update you as new issues develop.

Strom Law Firm is a personal injury and criminal defense law firm centrally located in Columbia, South Carolina. Our firm proudly handles personal injury, criminal defense, defective products, class actions, pharmaceutical liability, toxic torts, medical malpractice, nursing home neglect, workers compensation, social security, veteran’s benefits, qui tam, predatory lending, tax investigations, business litigation, and wills and estates. Our lawyers proudly edit the Columbia, South Carolina Injury Board as well as the Strom Law Blog as a pro bono effort to provide the public valuable information. Our lawyers are licensed in: South Carolina, New York, and Georgia.