MDLs in the SDFLA

 

By John R. Byrne 

More and more multidistrict litigations (MDLs) are coming to our district. They’re often complicated and a lot of work goes into them, so, when the Joint Panel on Multi-District Litigation (JPML) assigns one to a judge, it’s considered an honor. The JPML is composed of federal judges from each Circuit selected by Chief Justice Roberts. They hold quarterly argument on whether to create a new MDL and, if so, where to send it. It's often a very big deal in the world of federal civil litigation. 

Some districts and judges are frequently assigned MDLs and come to be regarded as "MDL Districts" and "MDL Judges." As an example, Judge M. Casey Rodgers in the Northern District of Florida is on her second major mass tort MDL (this one about 3M earplugs) and is considered by many to be an "MDL Judge." (In 3M several of our SDFLA judges have travelled to Pensacola and presided over bellwether trials.)

The SDFLA has 7 pending (open) MDLs now (listing them below, oldest to newest, with a short summary on what they’re about; some are fairly old and probably not all that active). In terms of sheer numbers, we’re about in the middle of the pack, nationally. We should move up in the next few years. It would also be great to get one of our judges on the JPML (we’ve never had one serve on the JPML).

I'm going to try and blog more about the interesting aspects of MDLs, particularly as they relate to the SDFL and 11th Circuit.

Judge	Case Name	Case No.	Summary
Kenneth A. Marra	In re: Chiquita Brands International, Inc.	MDL-1916	Victims contend that Chiquita funneled approximately 1.7 million dollars to the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia, a Colombian terrorist organization, during the Colombian civil war.
James Lawrence King	In re: Checking Account Overdraft Litigation	MDL-2036	Customers challenging the overdraft fees charged by the federally chartered banks on the ground that the charges were exorbitant
Federico Moreno	In re: Takata Airbag Products Liability Litigation	MDL-2599	Takata made airbags for various car makers. Plaintiffs alleged they exploded, killing or injuring people.
K. Michael Moore	Liquid Toppings Dispensing System (Patent Litigation)	MDL-2832	Kona Ice--that company that sells shaved ice from trucks with a penguin on it--alleged the competitors stole their topping dispensing system.
Darrin P. Gayles	In re: MONAT Hair Care Products Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation	MDL-2841	Claim is that products that were supposed to promote healthy hair growth did the opposite, causing hair loss and scalp irritation.
Robin L. Rosenberg	In re: Zantac (Ranitidine) Products Liability Litigation	MDL-2924	Claim is that ranitidine—an ingredient in Zantac and other heartburn drugs—causes cancer and that drug manufacturers knew it.
Cecilia M. Altonaga	In re: January 2021 Short Squeeze Trading Litigation	MDL-2989	Litigation over Robin Hood Securities’ handling of “meme stocks”—stocks whose price is being mostly driven by social media postings.
Rodolfo A. Ruiz	In re: Mednax Services, Inc., Customer Data Security Breach Litigation	MDL -2994	Mednax (now called Pediatrix) is a company in the health care space. In June 2020, its e-mail system was breached, potentially compromising the personally identifiable and health-related information of nearly two million individuals. Lawsuits ensued.
Raag Singhal	In re: Johnson & Johnson Sunscreen Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation	MDL-3015	Claim is that sunscreen manufactured by J&J defendants contained excessive amounts of benzene, a carcinogen linked to leukemia and other cancers.