The Wall Street Journal Predicts Rule 16.1 Will Prevent Meritless MDL Claims

The Wall Street Journal calls new FRCP Rule 16.1 a “welcome restraint on mass torts” because it addresses the meritless claim problem in MDLs by requiring plaintiffs to “show injury up front.” The new rule, which became effective on December 1st, provides new tools for improved case management and resolution of multidistrict litigation. Read the editorial here.

The Wall Street Journal echoes the concerns LCJ and its members have raised about the prevalence of unsupported claims in mass-tort MDLs and the burdens they place on federal courts and companies. LCJ and its members vigorously advocated for a rule addressing meritless claims in MDLs, launching the “Rules4MDLs” campaign in 2018, following LCJ’s Request for Rulemaking to the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules in 2017.

The editorial calls misuse of MDLs one of “one of the most abusive legal strategies” of the tort bar. LCJ General Counsel Alex Dahl said: “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.”

New Rule 16.1 requires parties to address how to exchange information about the factual bases for claims and defenses early in the proceedings, a step that should “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.”

LCJ is now focused on implementation of Rule 16.1, which should be applied by courts and parties to eliminate the problems caused by the mass filing of claims without sufficient factual basis.