Tennessee Latest Intervening State to Withdraw from Lawsuit Against JM Eagle
Tenth Government Entity Opts Out of 'Whistleblower' Complaint Against World's Largest Plastic-Pipe Maker, Two Additional States and the District of Columbia Decline to Intervene
Los Angeles - March 8, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The lawsuit against JM Eagle continues to unravel, as the state of Tennessee, an original intervener in the case, filed papers with the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles to withdraw its intervention in the suit against the world's largest manufacturer of PVC pipe. The case was filed on behalf of a disgruntled fired ex-employee, by the law firm Phillips & Cohen LLP.
"We applaud the decision of Tennessee to remove itself from this meritless lawsuit," said Bryan Daly, an attorney with Sheppard Mullin, the legal firm representing JM Eagle. "As the mass exodus continues we are more confident than ever this suit will be revealed for what it is, a blatant attempt to extort money from a good company."
The plaintiff's contingency fee law firm named eleven states and the District of Columbia as "real parties in interest" which invited those entities to join, or "intervene" in the lawsuit. Only four states originally elected to do so, and in a rare reversal, two of those four have since formally withdrawn from the lawsuit. Following Delaware, Tennessee is now the second state to withdraw its intervention, a very exceptional event in these types of cases. Further, the state of New York and the District of Columbia have not filed intervention notices in the case.
The states of California, Indiana, Massachusetts, Florida and more recently Illinois have all filed formal notices declining to intervene in this matter. "Tennessee's decision supports the overwhelming conclusion that the allegations against JM Eagle are unfounded," said Neal Gordon, JM Eagle vice president of marketing. "It mirrors those of seven other states, the District of Columbia, and the federal government in opting out of participation in the case."