12/16/2003
Plaintiffs had requested that 135 be added to the 173 already suing The Dow Chemical Co. because of dioxin contamination in the Tittabawassee River flood plain. Six have withdrawn as parties to the suit.
"There’s no way I could add that number of people and give Dow the right to take depositions," the Saginaw County Circuit Court Judge said of the changes. A hearing to determine if the case will proceed as class-action is scheduled for Feb. 24.
To simplify the certification process, plaintiffs’ attorneys also asked to reduce the number of people whose information would be analyzed for commonalties to 26 – the original filers of the suit.
Dow attorney Kathleen Lang said the timing of the requests is "suspicious" and that for plaintiffs to unilaterally pick and choose class representatives would be "prejudicial." Borrello said he would decide the scope of class representation after the February hearing.
Meanwhile, all 173 plaintiffs signed on are ordered to provide depositions to Dow. Plaintiffs also are continuing to provide discovery, or documents relating to property ownership, use and insurance. The deadline for collection was Dec. 1, though 24 litigants have yet to produce the documents they agreed to provide.
Lang suspects the late attempts to modify the suit are really an attempt to limit discovery.
Plaintiffs’ attorneys deny that allegation. "We’re not trying to limit discovery," said Michael Saunders. "We don’t want to delay that any further."