Information on the pending mandatory national punitive damages class action suit:
In Re: Simon II Litigation  (No. 00-cv-5332 E.D.N.Y)
 

TPLP's Q&A on Simon II case and non-opt out (mandatory) punitive class certification

Opinion and order certifying class (September 20, 2002)
Extended memorandum explaining the basis for the class certification (November 15, 2002) (pdf file requires free Adobe Acrobat Reader).

Who is Judge Jack B. Weinstein?  
 

Jack B. Weinstein has been a federal district court judge in Brooklyn for 35 years.  Many attorneys consider him to be one of the federal  judiciary's more brilliant and daring trial judges. He has previously taken on tough mass tort cases such as the lawsuits over Agent Orange, asbestos, DES, repetitive stress syndrome caused by computer keyboards, and the negligent marketing of handguns.  He has also presided over some of the more notorious mafia trials in New York.

Weinstein, who is 81, has fashioned solutions to difficult issues that have resulted in creating more new law than most district judges. He is greatly respected for his legal scholarship and reasoning, though he sometimes tries to take the law further than appellate courts are willing to go. 

Also see Federal Judicial Center bio of Jack B. Weinstein.
 

Lead class counsel's Press Release regarding the class certification

Coming: Q&A by lead class counsel.