Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation

or the Panel) is a special body within the United States federal court system which manages multidistrict litigation.The purpose of the transfer or "centralization" process is to conserve the resources of the parties and their counsel, as well as the judiciary, thus avoiding duplication of discovery and preventing inconsistent pretrial rulings.In addition to their participation on the Panel, the members continue to serve as judges for the courts to which they were originally appointed.These dockets encompass litigation categories as diverse as securities fraud, drugs and other products liability cases, intellectual property infringement, antitrust law violations, airplane crashes, employment practices and consumer data security breaches.[6][7] Before Congress created the random lottery procedure by statute in 1988, parties litigating in support of and against controversial government agency decisions would race to file in their preferred court of appeals in accordance with the traditional rule that the appropriate venue was usually where a petition for review was first filed.
Thurgood Marshall Federal Judiciary BuildingWashington, D.C.Article III court28 U.S.C.Chief JusticeKaren K. CaldwellUnited States federal court systemmultidistrict litigationCongresscivil actionsfederal judicial districtsquestions of factdistrict courtdiscoveryChief Justice of the United StatesJohn RobertsUnited States federal judgesdistrict courtscourts of appealssecurities fraudproducts liabilityintellectual propertyantitrust lawairplane crashesemployment practicesEastern District of KentuckyNathaniel M. GortonDistrict of MassachusettsMatthew KennellyNorthern District of IllinoisDavid C. NortonDistrict of South CarolinaRoger BenitezSouthern District of CaliforniaDale A. KimballDistrict of UtahMadeline Cox ArleoDistrict of New JerseyFederal Judicial CenterWayback MachineCaldwellGortonHuvelleProctorKennellyNorton