Law Commons^™

What Mdl And Class Action Have In Common, Howard M. Erichson

Faculty Scholarship

This short article responds to Elizabeth Chamblee Burch's article, Monopolies in Multidistrict Litigation, 70 Vand. L. Rev. 67 (2017). Burch argues that lawyers in MDL leadership positions use their power to negotiate settlements that favor themselves over the plaintiffs they purport to represent. She points to particular terms that lawyers routinely insert in mass settlements. She contrasts MDL with class actions, where procedural safeguards presumably protect class members' interests. My response contends that Burch's concerns about MDL are on target, but that class actions, rather than providing a neat contrast, reveal powerful parallels to the ethical and procedural concerns she …