Stack
EAST ST. LOUIS – Retired Madison County Circuit Judge Dan Stack found a night job.
On March 31, U. S. District Judge David Herndon appointed Stack to mediate disputes at depositions of Bayer executives taking place in Amsterdam.
Bayer had notified Herndon on March 25 that the depositions might require a referee at an inconvenient hour.
Herndon didn't care for night duty, so he suggested Stack as special master.
"The Court believes Judge Stack is someone who would be ideal for something like this if the Court would go forward with this," Herndon wrote.
He encouraged counsel to inquire with their state counterparts about Stack.
Appointment followed, with Herndon authorizing Stack to issue preliminary suggested rulings as necessary.
"The special master shall endeavor first to mediate a resolution to disputes that may arise," Herndon wrote.
He ordered Bayer and plaintiffs to split Stack's fee at $400 an hour.
He wrote that Stack can employ persons for clerical and secretarial assistance.
Herndon presides over thousands of federal suits blaming Bayer contraceptives for gall bladder injuries and circulatory damage.
The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multi District Litigation consolidated the litigation and assigned it to Herndon in 2009.