SARAH EVANS BARKER, JUDGE, United States District Court,
The next conference of attorneys in this MDL, scheduled for March 8, 2001, will be held in Room 216, United States Courthouse, 46 East Ohio Street, Indianapolis, Indiana beginning at 10 a.m. EST. The Court expects that the conference will conclude by 1 p.m. Attorneys on the Plaintiffs' Executive Committee and lead and local counsels for Defendants Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc., Ford Motor Company, and Bridgestone Corporation are expected to attend and participate. If any issues appropriate for Intervenors' participation are raised, Liaison Counsel for Intervenors may take part in those discussions.
The Court will allow, but does not encourage, the attendance of other attorneys and expects that any others in attendance will participate only through the above representatives. Any media representative who plans to attend should notify the Special Master at (317) 229-3608 or at dlynch@insd.uscourts.gov. The conference will be on the record, and transcripts will be available.
The Case Management Order of January 30, 2001, requires the parties to meet and confer and to submit a number of proposals. These proposals include: (a) a supplemental case management plan; (b) an evidence preservation and retention proposal; (c) a proposed order regarding the confidentiality of documents; and (d) a protocol for the Document Depository. Any briefing on these issues, including any briefing by Intervenors concerning the confidentiality of documents, must be filed by February 26, 2001. At the Attorney Conference on March 8, 2001, the objective will be to address remaining disagreements on these issues.
The Court also expects to address at the conference on March 8 the status of the following matters identified at prior conferences: (a) the progress in alternative dispute resolution ("ADR"); (b) the progress of settlement negotiations generally; (c) the status of informal coordination efforts with state courts; and (d) the ongoing briefing of Plaintiffs' class certification motion(s), Defendants' Motion to Dismiss Master Complaint, and Plaintiffs' Motion for Preliminary Injunction. The schedule for the conference has been designed also to provide time for the parties to raise additional issues that need to be addressed.