UPDATE ON CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT : Pending Dates


NO. 94-C1392

MARSHALL COLEMAN, ET AL            ) (   IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF

VS.                                           ) (   BRAZORIA COUNTY, TEXAS

ABB LUMMUS CREST, INC., ET AL     ) (   23RD JUDICIAL DISTRICT

SCHEDULING ORDER - NO. 4

1.)    May 13, 1998  -  Jurisdictional discovery regarding present Defendants will be completed by this date (this includes all discovery on special appearances and motions to transfer venue but no additional discovery will be allowed from a Defendant after that Defendant's motion has been heard.  The only discovery authorized until July 1, 1998 is jurisdictional discovery.)

2.)    Week of June 8, 1998  -  All special appearances and motions to transfer venue not previously heard will be heard.

3.)    Week of June 22, 1998 -  Court will enter written orders on all pending special appearances and motions to transfer venue by this date.

4.)    July 1, 1998  -  Discovery not limited to the question of jurisdiction begins, pursuant to the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure.

5.)    April 8, 1999  -  Counsel for all parties shall appear at docket call at 9:00 a.m., at which time this case will be set for trial.

    This Order supersedes and replaces the initial Scheduling Order, Scheduling Order No. 2 and Scheduling Order No. 3.

SIGNED this 20th day of March, 1998

BEN HARDIN, Presiding Judge 


IMPORTANT BILLS IN CONGRESS

The Products Liability Reform Act (S.648) and the Gulf War Veterans

PRODUCT LIABILITY
BILL - Product Liability Reform Act, S.648, sponsored by Senator Slade Gorton, R-WA.
PURPOSE - Caps punitive damages at $250,000 or two times the compensatory damages; eliminates strict liability for sellers and lessor of products; eliminates joint and several liability for non-economic damages; creates a two-year statuteof limitations and a 15-year statute of repose for most products.
STATUS - Approved by Senate Commerce Committee, reported to full Senate and placed on legislative calendar; negotiations are ongoing between key Senators and White House.


  The below letter is from the office of Mr. Gary Pitts to Senator Barbara Boxer on behalf of all Persian Gulf War Veterans, and all future veterans who may go through what we went through during our time in the Persian Gulf.  The above Bill is not to be taken lightly, if passed it will effect the thousands of PGW Veterans who have not signed up for the Class Action Lawsuit. In actuality it will eliminate them from ever being compensated in the future for their injuries and illnesses caused by serving in the Persian Gulf and/or in any future conflicts.   It would behoove everyone to write to their Congress and denounce this Bill as unfair to all current veterans and future veterans.


Pitts& Associates
Attorneys at Law
====================================
8866 Gulf Freeway, Suite 117
Houston, Texas  77017-6528
(713) 910-0555
(713) 910-0594 (Fax)

April 21, 1998
Honorable Barbara Boxer
United States Senator
112 Senate Hart Office Building
Washington, D.C.  20515-0505


     Re:    The Products Liability Reform Act (S.648) and the Gulf War Veterans

Dear Senator Boxer,

    As you requested when we met at Rick Laminack's reception for you in Houston on April 8, 1998, enclosed id follow-up information concerning the Gulf War veterans who have been ill since the war and how the pending Products Liability bill ( S.648 - see above ) would adversely impact them in their litigation against the suppliers of chemical and biological warfare materials and technology to Saddam Hussein.

    The bill was introduced in the Senate in April, 1997 and has not moved since June. If the bill has to go forward and hopefully, it will not, it seems like an exception to the bill's protection for sellers is in order.  Not protecting those who sell the precursors of chemical and biological warfare agents would be good public policy that Congress would support if presented the issue.

    My law firm and several other law firms represent approximately 5,000 Gulf War veterans who have been ill since the war.  Forty-three (43) of my clients are from California.  Enclosed is a copy of a Gannett News Service article about the litigation (not available here).  If the bill, as written passes, it will cut off other Gulf War veterans and their family members from being able to pursue a claim.  Many do not even know about this litigation yet.  There are well over 100,000 on the Gulf War Health Registry, so tens of thousands with proper claims would be unable to pursue them, since once enacted the bill will destroy their ability to claim against the seller of a product.  The United States Senate will not want to restrict the rights of claimants against this kind of defendant, if they know of this issue. We hope that you can help protect the veterans' rights in this matter.

       Since you are a member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, we want to thank you for your Committee's ground-breaking May 25, 1994 and October, 1994 investigation reports concerning the Gulf War veterans and their probable exposure to low-levels of Iraqi chemical agent fallout during the war.  This was well before the admitted probable exposure of about 100,000 of our troops to low-levels of nerve agent from Khamisiyah detonations alone.

    Thank you for your service to our country and your attention to our veterans.  We hope that you can help.


Sincerely yours,
Original Signed
Gary Pitts


Enclosures:
cc:
Mr. Kimo Hollingsworth
Assistant Director, Legislative Division
The American Legion
1608 K. Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C.   20006
Mr. Matt Puglisi
Assistant Director, Persian Gulf Issues
The American Legion
1608 K. Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C.  20006
Mr Paul Sullivan
Executive Director
National Gulf War Resource Center, Inc.
1224 M. Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C.  20005


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