HOUSTON – Barring another pandemic or more “meddling,” either Dallas County or Bexar County will host the state’s first opioid trial come September of next year.
Court records show that on Oct. 23 a third amended bellwether docket control order was filed in the Texas opioid MDL, closing discovery on May 21 and slating the initial trial setting for Sept. 27.
Dallas County has been selected as the primary bellwether. Bexar County is the alternate.
Two days before the amended DCO was entered, Dallas County filed a response in opposition to Bexar County’s amended motion for reconsideration of expert designation sections of amended docket control order – a lot of legal jargon for a motion that Dallas County argues “should never have been filed.”
Dallas County’s response states Bexar County’s problem with expert designation could “simply” be resolved by signing a Rule 11 agreement with the defendants, rather than seeking to “impose a limitation on Dallas County.”
“Dallas County does not understand why the Court is being asked to expend valuable judicial resources on this motion,” the response states. “First, there is no controversy between Dallas County and the Defendants. Indeed, there is no controversy between Bexar County and the Defendants.
“Bexar County can sign the Rule 11 it has already agreed to, withdraw its motion and avoid meddling in the Dallas County case.”
Court records show that Dallas County and the defendants filed a joint motion for continuance on Sept. 18, which states “relief is necessary due to the uncontrollable delays in the case resulting from the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic – delays that render the current DCO unworkable.”
The continuance, which was granted on Sept. 25, had been agreed upon by all parties except Bexar County.
Following the hearing for the continuance, Bexar County learned from the defendants that its expert designations were potentially problematic.
“For some unknown reason Bexar is not content to sign a Rule 11 Agreement that resolves its problem,” the response states. “Instead, Bexar unilaterally filed a motion seeking to impose on Dallas County the requirement that its non-retained testifying experts file reports that comply with the requirements of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for retained experts.
“Surprisingly, in conferring with counsel for defendants, Dallas County has learned the defendants did not ask Bexar County to file the motion. Rather, Defendants merely want Bexar to sign the Rule 11 Agreement and mutually resolve the dispute between Bexar and the Defendants.”
Bexar County is represented in part by San Antonio attorney Martin Phipps, who hasn’t exactly seen eye-to-eye with the other plaintiffs’ attorneys.
As previously reported, Phipps opposed the creation of a fee committee back in June.
Dallas County is represented by Houston attorney Mark Lanier along with Jeffrey Simon of Simon Greenstone Panatier.
MDL pretrial cause No. 2018-77066