Since their creation, multidistrict litigation—MDLs—have grown to dominate the federal case statistics. Despite the size and scope of MDLs, there are no Federal Rules of Civil Procedure specifically targeting the management of such programs. The U.S. Supreme Court federal rules committee recognized the potential need for more guidance and has published a proposed amendment, “Rule 16.1 Multidistrict Litigation” and opened a public comment period until Feb. 16.
Numerous practitioners, academics and parties have already submitted written comments that raise significant concerns about the potential implications of the proposed rule.
