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Civil Procedure

Sep. 17, 2026

Judge eyes 2 trials as Dominguez Channel claims face deadline

A Los Angeles judge proposed two 2027 trials involving Dominguez Channel odor claims as the court considers whether California's five-year trial deadline should be extended for thousands of plaintiffs.

Judge eyes 2 trials as Dominguez Channel claims face deadline
Gary A. Praglin of Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy LLP

With some 13,000 claims from the 2021 Dominguez Channel odor crisis contained within 78 private-plaintiff lawsuits approaching California's five-year deadline for reaching trial, a Los Angeles judge proposed holding two more plaintiff trials next year.

Superior Court Judge Lawrence P. Riff said Wednesday he wants two trials of five plaintiffs each in 2027, drawing from an existing discovery pool of 38 plaintiffs in the coordinated litigation.

"I am an ambitious m...

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