A battle was fought; and a battle was lost!  The state of Florida lost the fight for venue in regards to the Chinese Drywall cases that are mounting across the nation.  To date, 18 states have reported issues with Chinese drywall, most of them are located here in Florida.  To some, it would only make sense that the cases be heard in the state with the most issues; however the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana will consolidate all pending and future cases.

The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) issued an order stating that Judge Eldon E. Fallon, a Louisiana judge with experience in large-scale litigation, would oversee the trial on Chinese Drywall.

Giving all the cases to one judge could avoid inconsistent rulings, conserve resources and save time, according to the Multidistrict Litigation (MDL).