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Federal Judiciary Seeks Congressional Help for Complex Cases

June 29, 2006 — The federal judiciary wants Congress' help to improve the handling of complex civil cases in which multiple trial courts confront the same questions of fact.

U.S. District Judge Wm. Terrell Hodges (Middle District of Florida) told a Senate subcommittee on June 29 that the "Multidistrict Litigation Restoration Act" is needed so litigants in such lawsuits will be better served. Hodges, who chairs the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, testified in behalf of the policy-making Judicial Conference of the United States.

A multidistrict litigation process in place for more than nearly four decades allows civil cases pending in multiple federal trial courts involving common questions of fact to be centralized for coordinated or consolidated pretrial proceedings before one "transferee" judge. The Judicial Panel makes such assignments.

Until 1998, transferee judges had the authority to transfer the cases to their court or another district for trial when appropriate. In 1998, however, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled, in a case called Lexecon Inc. v. Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach, that a transferee judge cannot preside over the trial of such cases without expressly getting such authority from Congress.

"This legislation will restore the ability of a transferee judge to retain a case for trial or to transfer it to another district in the interest of justice and for the convenience of the parties and witnesses," Hodges testified.

"It is needed for three primary reasons. First, the legislation will facilitate settlements in complex, multistate cases. Second, it will reduce the needless waste that stems from litigating these cases in multiple jurisdictions, thereby conserving scare judicial resources and reducing litigants' expenses. Third, the legislation will directly benefit litigants who will be better served by improving efficiency in the handling of these cases," he said.

Over 228,000 cases have been centralized, involving millions of claims. Parties should not be subjected to the uncertainties, delays and expenses created by unnecessary duplication of litigation, or subjected to possible inconsistent adjudications, Hodges said.