Bailey Glasser Attorney Appointed To MDL Leadership Position in 3M Litigation
US District Judge M. Casey Rodgers appointed Bailey Glasser partner Katherine (Kate) Charonko to serve on the leadership team as part of the Discovery & ESI Subcommittee in multidistrict class action litigation for the defective 3M combat arms earplugs case. Hundreds of US military veterans filed a lawsuit against the manufacturing company claiming it sold them defective earplugs. Admitting no liability, 3M settled for $9.1 million with the US Department of Justice. The lawsuit alleges that the company knowingly sold defective earplugs, which created long-term health complications for military veterans.
Appointment of this nature is a high honor especially when it comes to such a high-profile case involving US military veterans. Kate has previous experience working in this capacity serving as liaison director of e-Discovery for several MDL leadership committees in various cases focusing on medical device product liability claims surrounding manufactured hernia mesh products. These appointments include working with the plaintiffs’ executive committee in Atrium Medical Corp. C-Qur Mesh Products Liability Litigation (MDL No. 2753) and participating as a member of Bailey Glasser’s plaintiff steering committee team on the Volkswagen Diesel Emissions MDL in the Northern District of California, the largest automotive class action in history, with settlements predicted to exceed $10 billion. Kate also served as part of the team working with the plaintiffs’ lead counsel committee for the economic loss cases in the Toyota sudden acceleration MDL in the Middle District of California, which settled for $1.6 billion, and handled more than a dozen related death and serious injury cases.
Kate advises and assists clients and attorneys regarding numerous aspects of e-Discovery, including document review strategy, use of technology and technology assisted review, collection and preservation strategy, development of case specific protocols, and training and implementation of e-Discovery practices at Bailey Glasser. Kate is a member of various e-Discovery organizations, such as The Sedona Conference and Women in e-Discovery.