244.61 sec. 001 - Multidistrict Litigation: The New Reality of Class Actions and Mass Torts (Fall 2022)
Instructor: Andrew David Bradt (view instructor's teaching evaluations - degree students only | profile)
Instructor: Elizabeth J Cabraser (view instructor's teaching evaluations - degree students only)
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Units: 1
Grading Designation: Credit Only
Mode of Instruction: In-Person
Meetings:
Tu 3:35 PM - 5:25 PM
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On 2022-08-23
Tu 3:35 PM - 5:25 PM
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On 2022-09-06
Tu 3:35 PM - 5:25 PM
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On 2022-09-20
Tu 3:35 PM - 5:25 PM
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On 2022-10-04
Tu 3:35 PM - 5:25 PM
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On 2022-10-18
Tu 3:50 PM - 5:25 PM
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On 2022-11-01
Tu 3:35 PM - 5:25 PM
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On 2022-11-15
Course End: November 15, 2022
Class Number: 32249
Enrollment info:
Enrolled: 27
Waitlisted: 0
Enroll Limit: 27
As of: 02/17 06:39 AM
This one-unit elective will focus on one of the most important developments in modern civil practice: the emergence of Multidistrict Litigation, or MDL, as the primary mechanism for mass-tort and class-action litigation in the United States. The MDL statute, passed in 1968, provides for consolidation of cases sharing a common question of fact before a single federal district judge for pretrial proceedings, such as motion practice, discovery, class certification, settlement negotiations, and often bellwether trials, if there is jurisdiction. Currently, the biggest and most important cases in the country are consolidated into MDLs, including the litigations involving the opioids crisis, concussions in the National Football League, not to mention enormous cases involving defective products and drugs, antitrust violations, securities fraud, and consumer data breaches. All told, MDL now comprises over a third of the federal civil docket: over 400,000 pending cases are currently part of an MDL. In this class, we will examine how MDL was created, how it became so prominent, and how it works in the real world. For students interested in becoming litigators in a national practice, this course will be an in-depth introduction to the world of complex litigation, as it is practiced at the highest levels.
This is an advanced course in US Civil Procedure intended for students who have already completed the basic first-year JD course in procedure. Due to the nature of the course, classes will not be recorded except as required to accommodate students with disabilities.
Prerequisites:
Civil Procedure; Civil Procedure for LLMs
Exam Notes: (P) Final paper
Course Category: Litigation and Procedure
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