On Tuesday, a U.S. judicial panel gave the go-ahead for a new rule that aims to regulate federal mass tort cases. This rule will give judges a starting point to navigate through numerous lawsuits filed against companies.
The Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure of Judicial Conference, gathered in Washington, D.C., recently approved a rule aiming to provide judges with instructions on handling early case management in federal multidistrict litigation (MDLs).
In recent years, multidistrict litigation (MDLs) has experienced a surge in growth, with a significant proportion of cases revolving around allegations that a company’s product, such as a pharmaceutical drug, has caused harm to consumers. As of the close of the 2023 fiscal year, MDLs accounted for a staggering 71.3% of the federal civil caseload, as reported by Lawyers for Civil Justice. This group advocates for the defence.
Since 2017, there has been an ongoing discussion about the rule, with defence attorneys and corporations such as Johnson & Johnson and Bayer, who often deal with lawsuits related to product-related injuries, advocating for significant revisions to filter out baseless claims.
U.S. District Judge John Bates, who leads the committee, described the final rule as being relatively modest compared to the initial proposals. However, he expressed his strong support for them to be excellent.
He expressed congratulations on reaching the end of seven years of formulating a rule.
Judges are advised by the rule to set up initial hearings to create case management plans after being assigned cases by the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation. The rule is the selection of plaintiffs’ leadership counsel.
Under the revised Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, specifically Rule 16.1, parties involved in multidistrict litigation (MDL) are required to share crucial information at the outset, outlining the key factual and legal disputes at the heart of the case, as well as the factual grounds supporting their respective claims and defences.
According to Alex Dahl, general counsel for Lawyers for Civil Justice, this new rule will streamline the court process by prioritizing the identification of relevant claims in multi-district litigation, ensuring that only pertinent cases are included from the outset.
Defence attorneys advocated for a procedure that would mandate every plaintiff to demonstrate early on in a case that they have evidence backing up the fundamental aspects of their claims, with the aim of dismissing weak cases at the outset of litigation.
However, judges emphasized the importance of preserving the flexibility to decide when, rather than if, plaintiffs should be compelled to present such evidence. The majority of the guidelines serve as advisory information for judges, who still have the authority to oversee multidistrict litigations at their discretion.
The proposed regulation will next be reviewed by the Judicial Conference, which is slated to discuss it at its upcoming September gathering. Assuming it receives approval, the rule will be forwarded to the U.S. Supreme Court, which will then pass it along to Congress for consideration. Unless Congress takes action to reject it, the new rule is poised to become effective on December 1, 2025.
