New MDL Rule 16.1 Requires Early Action on Meritless Claims

The first Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (FRCP) developed specifically to govern multidistrict litigation (MDL) proceedings takes effect on December 1st. FRCP Rule 16.1 will provide a comprehensive structure for the initial management of MDLs, and one of its key features encourages the parties to exchange information at the outset about the factual basis of claims and defenses to help discourage or reduce meritless cases from infecting the management of MDLs. It places vetting of claims on the agenda for an early conference among the parties.

Lawyers for Civil Justice (LCJ) and its members have long contended that important rules that should apply to all federal civil cases have been commonly bypassed in MDLs, especially those related to the vetting of claims. LCJ launched its Rules4MDLs campaign in April 2018 following its August 2017 Request for Rulemaking to the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules, which proposed amending the FRCP to solve several recurring problems in MDL proceedings.

“Rule 16.1 is an important step forward in the efficient management of MDLs that for too long have been disrupted by a large volume of unexamined and meritless claims,” said LCJ General Counsel Alex Dahl. “This rule should strongly discourage the filing of meritless claims and give courts and parties an effective mechanism for identifying and dismissing them at the early stages of a new MDL.”

In addition to the implementation of FRCP 16.1, amendments to Rules 16(b)(3) and 26(f)(3) providing flexibility for more efficient types of privilege logs, will also take effect on December 1. LCJ has also long advocated for rules providing for increased flexibility in privilege logging, which will save time and expense for litigants and the courts.

Read more on the new MDL Rule in LCJ’s press release here. The LCJ website document directory contains resource documents related to the new rule.