Closing Time: Settlement Strategies for Your Mass Tort Case

4 Pages Posted: 22 Sep 2014

Date Written: September 19, 2014

Abstract

If you represent a client in a mass tort product liability case, Multi-District Litigation will almost certainly affect the outcome of your client’s claims. Congress created this tool with 28 U.S.C. §1407, which allows a panel of judges to centralize similar cases before a single federal judge to promote efficiency, conserve resources, and prevent inconsistent pre-trial rulings. Unlike a class action, plaintiffs in an MDL retain their right to an individual jury trial, and their cases may be remanded back to their home jurisdiction once discovery and other pre-trial matters are finished. This gives plaintiffs greater control over the outcome of their individual cases, while at the same time, sharing resources in a common struggle against a larger and better-funded defendant. Settling a mass tort case is a task that a growing number of practitioners face. In an MDL setting, closing out a complex product liability claim requires specific knowledge and skills.

Keywords: Mass Tort, Product Liability, Multi-District Litigation, Lawsuits, Settlement

JEL Classification: K00, K13, K40, K41

Suggested Citation

Davis, Alex C., Closing Time: Settlement Strategies for Your Mass Tort Case (September 19, 2014). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2498608 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2498608

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