Welcome to the latest installment of And Now a Word from the Panel, a column which
"rides the circuit" with the Judicial Panel on
Multidistrict Litigation as it meets on a bimonthly basis at venues
around the country.
This week, the panel heads to Los Angeles for its Sept. 26
hearing session, where it is now scheduled to address 10 new MDL
petitions. That will bring this year's total to 37 MDL
petitions heard by the panel, with a final hearing session
remaining.
At the May hearing session in Portland, Oregon, the panel
considered 11 new MDL petitions. The panel granted seven of those
motions and denied four of those motions. The MDL proceedings
include litigations in the areas of antitrust, patent, product
liability, and marketing and sales, as well as a data breach. With
seven new MDLs, the panel's batting average has broken .500 for
the year, reaching .519 (14 motions granted, and 13 motions
denied).