The Honorable Judge Donovan Frank and Magistrate Judge Frank Noel presided over a hearing on September 9th concerning the MDL for Stryker hip recall lawsuits. Counsel from across the United States assembled for the MDL 2442 Status Conference held in St. Paul, MN.
The hearing’s agenda included negotiations among the plaintiffs’ legal counsel to determine leadership roles for the Stryker MDL. Levin, Papantonio law firm shareholder and Stryker hip lawyer, Ben Gordon, Annesley DeGaris from Birmingham, Ala., Pete Flower from Chicago, and Genevieve Zimmerman were proposed for the “Majority Slate” for the Lead Counsel in the MDL.
Dan Gustafson headed the minority slate, and Mr. Gordon, after addressing the court, announced his decision to resign his application for lead counsel and instead form a smaller lead counsel group that would represent both slates of leadership in the MDL.
“To lead is to serve,” said Gordon in his address to the court, citing that his withdrawal from the running for the MDL’s lead counsel was done “in order to help unite the plaintiffs’ bar behind a leadership slate that everyone could support.”
The final proposed slates were submitted to Judge Frank, and a ruling on the submissions are expected soon.
Krysta is a writer and researcher with Ring of Fire. Follow her on Twitter @KrystaLoera.