Multidistrict Litigation Attorney
About Multidistrict Litigation (MDL)
When a large number of people take legal action after being adversely affected by a defective product, dangerous drug or medical device, or a large disaster like an airplane crash, their cases may be consolidated to a single court. The federal court system uses this method, called multidistrict litigation (MDL), to not only save time and resources but to garner consistent court rulings for separate lawsuits that involve very similar issues. This is different than class action litigation, which involves filing a single lawsuit for numerous plaintiffs (injured parties) against a defendant or defendants (allegedly at-fault party).
With MDL, the cases will be assigned to a single district court, which will then handle all pretrial and discovery proceedings. This can speed up the process considerably by requiring defendants and witnesses to be deposed only once rather than time and time again by every single plaintiff. The judge handling the MDL will also become an expert on the matter and will be able to make more effective rulings that will apply to all pertinent lawsuits.
