Resend of status report. The hearing date is April 17, not April 12.


> As reported in Tim Taylor's prior email, Judge Moskowitz deferred ruling
> on the motion to stay pending resolution of the Section 455 issue.  Judge
> Moskowitz rejected plaintiffs' argument that defendants should be required
> to formally move to recuse, stating that he felt required to resolve the
> Section 455 issue before proceeding further.  On the other hand, he did
> not accept our argument that judicial economy favors deferral of the 455
> issue to the MDL Panel, stating instead that he needed to resolve the
> issue, lest the Panel designate him as the MDL transferee court for cases
> he could not accept.
>
> Judge Moskowitz continued the matter to April 17 at 2:30 pm (PST), at
> which time the Court will hear oral argument on both the 455 issue and the
> stay motion.  In the interim, the parties will brief the 455 issue in
> accordance with the following schedule:
>
>  Plaintiff's brief  -  April 2
>  Defendants' response - April 10
>  Plaintiff's reply -  April 12
>
> As to the stay motion, Judge Moskowitz indicated he would need to review
> the issues raised in the remand briefs before deciding the stay motion.
> He stated that, generally speaking, if the remand motions require
> substantial effort and raise issues on which reasonable minds could defer,
> then he is inclined to grant a stay, given considerations of judicial
> economy and the public's interest in consistent rulings.  While Judge
> Moskowitz was careful to note he has not decided this issue, many of the
> defense counsel who attended the hearing came away with the impression
> that the Court is favorably inclined to the stay arguments.
>
> As to the timing of the remand motion, Judge Moskowitz stated that, if he
> does not recuse himself and if he does not stay the cases, the remand
> motion will be heard "a couple of weeks" after April 17.   Plaintiffs
> expressed concern that the remand motion be heard before the MDL rule in
> May.  Judge Moskowitz did not commit to any specific schedule, but
> appeared receptive to plaintiffs' position on this timing issue.
>
> A transcript has been ordered and should be available on Monday for
> circulation.  Several counsel have suggested that we have a group
> discussion after we review the transcript to assess our options on the
> various issues, including the Section 455 issue.
>
> As such, we have scheduled a conference call for Wednesday, March 28 at 11
> am (PST).  The dial in number is 1-800-210-5603 (pass code 5103596#).  I
> will circulate an agenda before the call.
>
> Regards.
>
> **************
>
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