MDL Strategy for Defendants

January 6, 2018 | Author: Anonymous | Category: Social Science, Law, Tort Law
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Common Issues Defense Strategy James G. Martingano MehaffyWeber Houston, TX

Introduction • Common Themes – Single event – Multiple parties – Common Sources of Proof

• Common Problems – – – –

Scope Inherent Delay/Duplication Discovery Finality

Main Types • Class Action – statutory

• MDL – statutory

• Mass Tort/Consolidated Cases – Generally common law

Mass Tort vs. Class Action • Similarities – Jurisdiction (State or Federal) – Focus (case disposition)

• Differences – Procedure (Federal vs. State) – Scope (limited vs. general)

Federal Class Actions • Federal Rule 23 – 1938 • 3 types – True – Spurious – Hybrid

• “Opt-In”

– 1966 • Criteria – Numerosity – Commonality – Typicality

• “Opt-Out”

Class Actions • Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 – Tort Reform – Expanded Federal Jurisdiction – Limits on Coupon Settlements

• Trends – Personal Injury – Consumer – Employment

• State Court – Range of options – California – most complex

A Brief History of MDL • • • •

Federal MDLs created in 1968 28 U.S.C. § 1407 “common questions of fact” “centralization is for the convenience of the parties and promotes just and efficient conduct of litigation

Current Data on Federal MDLs • 310 MDLs in over 60 Federal Districts • 240 Judges overseeing one or more MDLs • 92,000 pending individual cases – Of which 48,000 are asbestos

• 15% of the entire Federal Court docket

• Breast Implant

MDL Highlights

– Established Scientific Panel to evaluate Daubert Motion – Global Settlement

• Welding Rod

– Bellwether Trials

• Chinese Dry Wall

– Consumer and Personal Injury – Jurisdiction

• Vioxx

– Settlement

• Asbestos

– Still pending – Largest caseload – 40,000+

• Toyota Litigation

– personal injury and consumer claims

Class Action Highlights • Wal Mart – Largest gender discrimination class action recently certified – Dukes v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc, Northern District of California

• AT&T – Overtime wage claims – Wlotkowski et al. v. Michigan Bell Telephone Company, Eastern District of Michigan.

Herb Zarov • Personal Injury Issues related to Consolidated Cases • Case Management Orders – Defenses – Strategy

• Hypothetical Case Study

Carla Christofferson • Punitive Damages in Class Actions – Exxon Valdez

• Standing Issues – Tobacco II

Carolyn Frantz • No-Injury Class Actions – Teflon – BPA

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