What happened: Mass tort litigation, driven by attorneys and profit-focused funders, overwhelms the federal civil system.
Tell me more: While the multidistrict litigation (MDL) process aims to streamline litigation, the MDLs created by federal courts often attract baseless claims and exploitative third-party funders, distorting the pursuit of justice.
By the numbers: MDLs account for 65 percent of the federal civil caseload, up from 38 percent a decade ago.
- Excessive mass tort litigation costs taxpayers billions annually, with federal, state and local tax revenue losses estimated at $122.2 billion.
TLR Thoughts: Profit-driven mass tort litigation has become an economically draining industry that burdens taxpayers, hinders businesses, and undermines justice. Fortunately, Texas was ahead of the curve on this litigation epidemic. Through TLR’s efforts in 2003 to pass a tort reform bill that remains the most comprehensive bill of its kind every enacted by any state, Texas limited abuses of class action lawsuits and created an MDL process that is both efficient and seldom abused.
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