Two Defective Product Lawsuits Becoming Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) Cases

June 10, 2013

Since the beginning of 2013, two major defective products lawsuits have been reviewed by the Judicial Panel on Multi-District Litigation (JPML).  As a result of that review, the panel has transferred all federal level suits for the Mirena IUD and for the contraceptive NuvaRing to their own respective Multi-District Litigation (MDL) cases.  Federal Mirena cases will be transferred to MDL No. 2434, and Federal NuvaRing cases are transferred to MDL No. 1964.

Potential clients often ask, “Is this a Class Action Lawsuit?”  The answer is no.  MDL’s are reserved for cases where the potential exists for a large number of cases with major settlements and is only used for non-criminal issues.   An MDL is used when “civil actions involving one or more common questions of fact are pending in different districts.” (28 USC § 1407)

What is the difference between an MDL and a Class Action suit?

In a class action suit, all lawsuits are consolidated into a single case, which is then litigated and settled.  Plaintiffs become class members, and the settlement is split between all class members, after attorney’s fee and expenses have been paid.

In a Multi-District Litigation, plaintiffs maintain their own case, and settlements are based on the merits of the individual cases.  Settlements are usually not just a share of the total settlement, but a settlement based on the court’s finding of merit in the plaintiff’s particular case.

In an MDL, cases that share a common issue are transferred to an assigned district court, where pretrial discovery and motions are done.  Rather than hold pre-trial motions and discovery in each trial, this discovery is shared among district courts throughout the United States.  A single assigned judge becomes the authority in the matter at hand, and hears and rules on all pre-trial motions.  If the case does not settle in the MDL setting, the case is remanded back to its original jurisdiction for trial.

The practice of Multi-District Litigation arises from a 1968 federal law passed by the U.S. Congress, which designated a 7 judge panel of sitting federal judges from across the country known as the Judicial Panel on Multi-District Litigation (JPML).  28 USC § 1407 specifies that no 2 judges on the JPML can be from the same district.