North Dakota Century Code Title 32. Judicial Remedies § 32-46.1-03. Identification of additional or alternative asbestos trust by defendant

1. A defendant may file a motion requesting a stay of the proceedings by the later of the seventy-fifth day before the trial is set to commence or the fifteenth day after the defendant first obtains information supporting additional trust claims by the plaintiff. The defendant shall produce or describe the documentation the defendant possesses or of which the defendant is aware in support of the motion. Before filing the motion, the defendant shall meet and confer with the plaintiff to discuss why the defendant believes the plaintiff has an additional trust claim.

2. Within ten days of receiving the defendant's motion, the plaintiff shall:

3. If the court determines there is a sufficient basis for the plaintiff to file an asbestos trust claim, the court shall stay the asbestos action until the plaintiff files the asbestos trust claim and produces all related trust claims materials.

4. If the court determines the cost of submitting an asbestos trust claim exceeds the plaintiff’s reasonably anticipated recovery, the court shall stay the asbestos action until the plaintiff files with the court and provides all parties with a verified statement of the plaintiff’s history of exposure, usage, or other connection to asbestos covered by the identified asbestos trust.

5. The court may not schedule the asbestos action for trial until at least sixty days after the plaintiff files the documentation required under this section.