And Now A Word From The Panel: An MDL Realignment

This article is part of a bimonthly column that “rides the circuit” with the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) as it convenes at venues across the country. With baseball season in full swing, the panel heads to Milwaukee for its May hearing session, where it will consider six new multidistrict litigation (MDL) petitions following the withdrawal of two petitions, an increase from the four petitions considered in March. This installment examines a potential geographic shift in where new MDL proceedings are being centralized, including increased activity in Central and Pacific time zone jurisdictions. The column also reviews recent MDL statistics and trends involving product liability and antitrust proceedings, pending actions, venue concentrations, and the broader federal multidistrict litigation landscape heading into the panel’s summer hearing sessions.