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Full-Text Articles in Law
Judging Multidistrict Litigation, Elizabeth Chamblee Burch
Judging Multidistrict Litigation, Elizabeth Chamblee Burch
Elizabeth Chamblee Burch
Remanding Multidistrict Litigation, Elizabeth Chamblee Burch
Remanding Multidistrict Litigation, Elizabeth Chamblee Burch
Elizabeth Chamblee Burch
Multidistrict litigation has frequently been described as a “black hole” because transfer is typically a one-way ticket. The numbers lend truth to this proposition. As of 2010, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation remanded only 3.425% of cases to their original districts. That number dwindled to 3.1% in 2012, and to a scant 2.9% in 2013. Retaining cases in hopes of forcing a global settlement can cause a constellation of complications. These concerns range from procedural justice issues over selecting a forum and correcting error, to substantive concerns about fidelity to state laws, to undermining democratic participation ideals fulfilled through …
Disaggregating, Elizabeth Chamblee Burch
Disaggregating, Elizabeth Chamblee Burch
Elizabeth Chamblee Burch
Commonality is a defining characteristic of mass-tort litigation. But mass-tort claimants typically do not share enough in common to warrant class certification. That is, commonality does not predominate. Yet, without class certification, judges cannot conclude these cases as a unit absent a private settlement. This paradox prompts two questions. First, what level of commonality justifies aggregating mass torts, shorn of Rule 23’s procedural protections? And, second, should the federal judicial system continue to centralize claims with nominal commonality when judges typically cannot resolve them collectively absent a private settlement? This Article’s title suggests one answer: if minimal commonality continues to …
Adequately Representing Groups, Elizabeth Chamblee Burch
Adequately Representing Groups, Elizabeth Chamblee Burch
Elizabeth Chamblee Burch
Procedural Justice In Nonclass Aggregation, Elizabeth Chamblee Burch
Procedural Justice In Nonclass Aggregation, Elizabeth Chamblee Burch
Elizabeth Chamblee Burch
Nonclass aggregate litigation is risky for plaintiffs: it falls into the gray area between individual litigation and certified class actions. Although scholars have formulated procedural protections for both extremes, the unique danger and allure posed by nonclass aggregation has been undertheorized, leaving mass tort claimants with inadequate safeguards. When hallmark features of mass torts include attenuated attorney-client relationships, numerous litigants, and the demise of adversarial legalism, the attorney-client relationship itself becomes another bargaining chip in the exchange of rights. This Article takes the initial steps toward advancing a cohesive theory of procedural justice in nonclass aggregation by exposing the problem …