in Re Harvey Sand Litigation ( 2019 )

ORDER OF MULTIDISTRICT LITIGATION PANEL Order Pronounced October 1, 2019 THE MOTION IN THE FOLLOWING CASE IS GRANTED AS FOLLOWS: 19-0500 IN RE HARVEY SAND LITIGATION On June 16, 2019, the Multidistrict Litigation Panel issued its order staying all trial court proceedings in the cases listed in Appendix A to the Motion to Transfer until further order of the MDL Panel. Pursuant to motion, the Panel amended that stay on July 26, 2019, to allow any present and future parties in the Harvey Sand Litigation to file, amend, and serve any pleadings in that litigation in light of potential concerns regarding statutes of limitations, pending the Panel’s action on the motion to transfer. Since July 26, 2019, various pleadings have been filed and consolidations and/or realignments have been accomplished, leaving only one pending case remaining, Ellisor. Additionally, some new potential intervenors have sought inclusion in the litigation. Objections and complaints have been made to said recent pleadings, consolidations, realignments, and/or intervention requests. It has further been requested that the Panel’s stay be further amended to allow those objections and complaints to be resolved by local judicial officers in Harris County under local rules. The Panel hereby further modifies its stay to allow any appropriate Harris-County-based judicial officer(s) to review any and all pleadings, consolidations, realignments, and proposed interventions filed, requested, or ordered after July 26, 2019, to decide what case(s) should continue in this litigation, in what form(s), in what court(s), and with what parties. All parties and potential parties are also relieved from the stay to file and urge any salient pleading, briefing, and argument to said local judicial officers regarding such pending issues. It is ordered that the parties file with this Panel a joint status report on or before December 1, 2019, concerning the results of the local proceedings allowed by this further stay amendment, subject to extension by motion, to the end that the Panel may finally rule on the Motion to Transfer at an early date.