The Rising Behemoth: Multidistrict and Mass Tort Litigation in the United States

(Paperback)

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Over the last few decades, multidistrict litigation in the federal courts has exploded. Originally a mechanism for consolidating relatively small numbers of commercial cases, with the advent of large-scale mass tort litigation, it has become the primary vehicle for resolving hundreds of thousands of tort claims pending in the federal court system. From asbestos to opioids, MDL proceedings are now used to resolve many of the largest and most high-profile disputes. In recent years, however, participants in multidistrict litigation have expressed significant dissatisfaction. Defendants maintain that MDL proceedings attract large numbers of meritless claims and that many MDL courts are failing to provide sufficient scrutiny to the claims that are filed. As a result, defendants are overwhelmed with large numbers of meritless cases and face significant pressure to settle, providing compensation for many claims that should not have been filed in the first place.

From filing to resolution through litigation or settlement, The Rising Behemoth addresses each of the steps in large-scale MDL litigation in the federal courts. In the process, it significantly advances the debate regarding modern MDL practice and offers concrete suggestions for ways in which the system can be improved.

Author Bio

Douglas Smith is a lawyer who practices inChicago, Illinois. For more than two decades,he worked at Kirkland & Ellis LLP where hewas a partner. Before that, he was a law clerkto the Honorable David Sentelle of the U.S.Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Hehas taught various courses at the AntoninScalia Law School at George Mason UniversitySchool of Law and Loyola University Chicago School of Law.He obtained his law degree from the Northwestern Pritzker Schoolof Law, an M.B.A. from The University of Chicago Booth School ofBusiness, and a B.S. and B.A. from the State University of New Yorkat Buffalo. He is a member of the American Law Institute and haspublished more than 40 scholarly articles on a variety of legal topics.