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"  PHILADELPHIA &ndash; U.S. District Judge Eduardo Robreno meant it when he said he would start getting rid of suits in his national asbestos court.<br /><br />  Robreno, responsible for about 60,000 suits from around the nation, dismissed 444 on April 8 and set an April 21 hearing on another 686 suits.<br /><br />  He allowed 279 claims to proceed.<br /><br />  Since last fall Robreno has presided over asbestos cases by appointment of the U. S. Judicial Panel on Multi District Litigation.<br /><br />  Robreno started enforcing a rule of \"one plaintiff, one claim,\" that treats a claim against 100 defendants as 100 separate claims each requiring specific allegations.<br /><br />  Defendants asked for a blanket order dismissing about 30,000 suits that lacked specifics, but Robreno preferred a rule of \"one plaintiff, one defense.\"<br /><br />  He invited a specific motion in each case, and the motions started flowing.<br /><br />  He set 12 hearings in three months, and after the first one he signed five orders closing claims of 444 plaintiffs.<br /><br />  He gave 18 other plaintiffs 20 days to explain why he shouldn't dismiss them.<br /><br />  He allowed 249 plaintiffs to proceed after they filed affidavits of compliance.<br /><br />  Defendants withdrew motions against 30 plaintiffs.<br /><br />  For cases that survived, Robreno required discovery plans in 60 days.<br /><br />  As he prepares for further hearings, magistrates under his supervision conduct constant settlement conferences."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://wvrecord.com/stories/510595971-federal-judge-tossing-out-asbestos-cases>