SEASON 3

MDLs Go Mainstream: Mass Torts Today

This episode explores the multidistrict litigation (MDL) from their origins to current examples and recommended reforms.

When complex issues affect large numbers of people, MDLs are often seen as the most efficient way to consolidate and manage those cases, recent examples include opioids and Roundup.

Led by MDL expert and scholar Elizabeth Chamblee Burch, participants will discuss the nuances of MDLs and examine how all involved in the process should never lose sight of the human element in these cases. The panel will also explore the role of the MDL judge and address MDL’s pain points as they relate to appellate opportunities, plaintiffs’ attorneys, and more. The episode will conclude with the panel offering some of their own ideas for reform.

SUPPLEMENTARY RESOURCES

A transcript of the full episode is available here. Please excuse typos due to inaudible passages or transcription errors.

 

Advisory Committee on Civil Rules Meeting Agenda (October 16, 2020)

Specter, Proposed Amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure on Multidistrict Litigation (December 18, 2020)

Mass Tort Deals: Backroom Bargaining in Multidistrict Litigation by Elizabeth Chamblee Burch

Cambridge University Press (2019)

Mass Tort Deals: Backroom Bargaining Blog

Elizabeth Chamblee Burch (2018).

In re: National Prescription Opiate Litigation, No. 20-3075, Opinion on Petition for a Writ of Mandamus (2020)

Lexecon Inc. v. Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach (1997)

Information for the Common Good in Mass Torts

Lahav, Alexandra D. and Burch, Elizabeth Chamblee, Information for the Common Good in Mass Torts (October 2, 2020). DePaul Law Review, Forthcoming. Available at SSRN.

Judicial Adjuncts in Multidistrict Litigation

Burch, Elizabeth Chamblee and Williams, Margaret S., Judicial Adjuncts in Multidistrict Litigation (May 25, 2020). Columbia Law Review, Forthcoming, University of Georgia School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2020-22. Available at SSRN.

Monopolies in Multidistrict Litigation

Burch, Elizabeth Chamblee, Monopolies in Multidistrict Litigation (January 2, 2017). 70 Vanderbilt Law Review 67 (2017), University of Georgia School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2018-22. Available at SSRN.

Nudges and Norms in Multidistrict Litigation: From Fact Sheets to Lone Pine Orders

Burch, Elizabeth Chamblee, Nudges and Norms in Multidistrict Litigation: From Fact Sheets to Lone Pine Orders (July 23, 2019). Yale Law Journal Forum, Forthcoming, University of Georgia School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2019-25. Available at SSRN.

Civil Litigation and the Opioid Epidemic: The Role of Courts in a National Health Crisis

Gluck, Abbe R. and Hall, Ashley and Curfman, Gregory, Civil Litigation and the Opioid Epidemic: The Role of Courts in a National Health Crisis (March 6, 2018). Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, Forthcoming, Yale Law School, Public Law Research Paper No. 633. Available at SSRN.

Unorthodox Civil Procedure: Modern Multidistrict Litigation's Place in the Textbook Understandings of Procedure

Gluck, Abbe R., Unorthodox Civil Procedure: Modern Multidistrict Litigation's Place in the Textbook Understandings of Procedure (July 31, 2017). University of Pennsylvania Law Review, Vol. 165, No. 7, 2017, Yale Law School, Public Law Research Paper No. 612. Available at SSRN.

How Not to Manage a Common Benefit Fund: Allocating Attorneys’ Fees in Vioxx Litigation

Shanin Specter, Charles L. Becker, and Thomas R. Kline, How Not to Manage a Common Benefit Fund: Allocating Attorneys’ Fees in Vioxx Litigation, 9 Drexel University Law Review 1 (2016).