Various MDL Orders, 1981-1983

The Dalkon Shield Claimants Trust Collection was transferred to the University of Virginia Law Library by order of the U. S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in September 2000. Under that order, Series I through V are open for research with no restrictions. The Court imposed the following access restrictions for the materials in Series VI (the Trust's Central Records Library and Outside Counsel Files):

"5.01 Preservation of Claimants' Privacy. No Identifying Information, or any document or record within the Trust Materials containing Identifying information, relating to any Personal Injury Claimant --- or Other Claimant --- may be disclosed at any time, without written consent of the relevant Personal Injury Claimant or Other Claimant, or an Order by the Court allowing such disclosure."

The Court defined "Identifying Information" as the following:

"Identifying Information" means a person or entity's name, address, telephone number, facsimile number, email address, and any unique identifier including but not limited to a social security number, tax identification number, passport number, and military identification number."

Requests for material in Series VI should be made in advance to allow Special Collections staff time to determine whether it contains identifying information, and to allow for the redaction of such information before permitting access. Copying documents in Series VI may be restricted, and advance consideration of such requests is required.