Recent events suggest that a global settlement in the longstanding hernia mesh multidistrict litigation (MDL) is on the horizon. Most recently, the parties jointly submitted two case management orders on July 5, 2024—CMO #52...more
The court in the aqueous film-forming foams (“AFFF”) multidistrict litigation recently established a bellwether process to address personal injury claims alleging that polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in AFFF caused thyroid...more
As total adjudication is a lofty finish line for many mass and class disputes, settlement is a crucial factor. As class actions continue to rise in prominence in the UK, the United States offers many lessons to emulate and...more
Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis famously exclaimed sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants. Of course the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Rome News-Tribune endorse that proposition. And, the newspapers...more
Kardashian Kopycat? Energy Drink Company Claims Competitor Stole Kim's Copyrighted Look - The Instagram posts look nearly identical, in a blink-and-you'll-miss-the-difference kind of way—or so says the complaint filed by...more
The first bellwether trial in the massive Aqueous Film-Forming Foams (AFFF/PFAS) multi-district products liability litigation MDL-2873 (MDL) was delayed pending finalizing a reported $10 billion financial settlement by the...more
This morning, Judge Richard Gergel of the US District Court for the District of South Carolina—the judge presiding over multidistrict litigation (MDL) concerning Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF)—continued the City of Stuart...more
Claims against manufacturers and distributors of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)-containing aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) are hurtling forward. Two important developments in this opening salvo of PFAS-related...more
Judges presiding over multidistrict litigations, known as MDLs, must walk a tightrope between individual and collective needs. ...more
Congress designed federal multidistrict litigation (“MDL”) to “promote the just and efficient conduct” of civil actions pending in different districts. By just about any measure, though, the litigation device has failed to...more
Opioid litigation is a hot topic in the U.S. legal community. In response to the country’s opioid crisis, several states, individuals, and other local governments have filed lawsuits against various prescription opioid...more
This post is an update from our earlier blog post, available here, on the bellwether federal opioids trial in the Northern District of Ohio. Just hours prior to the start of the trial in a consolidated case involving two...more
An en banc Ninth Circuit recently reinstated a nationwide class settlement that resolved consumer claims related to several of Hyundai’s and Kia’s advertised fuel economy standards. Joining several other circuits, the court...more
Multidistrict litigation (MDL), came into being in 1968 with the intent to make it more efficient for parties to litigate complex cases where there is a common question of fact that are pending in different districts. Since...more