Venue, Joinder, Removal, & Mass Tort Planning

Deciding where to file the next big mass tort? We sometimes work as consultants for plaintiffs’ law firms in the planning stages of mass torts. We can provide a comprehensive overview of the jurisdictions available to you.

If you want to keep your new mass tort in state court, we can provide you with a full analysis of how likely you are to keep it there. We scrutinize each relevant federal Circuit’s decisions on SNAP removal, fraudulent joinder, and misjoinder under Tapscott. We also consider state court motions to sever—and can have your motions practice ready to go when you launch your mass tort.

Daubert Briefing

Attorney Jonathan Hilton handled Daubert motions and research at Jones Day. Combined with Geoffrey Parker’s prior career track in research science and biochemistry, we have the background necessary to handle your expert witness briefing. Since leaving “Big Law,” we have been trusted by other attorneys with Daubert research and briefing in mass torts.

Now more than ever, mass tort lawyers see the value in hiring legal researchers to help “Daubert-proof” their experts from the get-go. We can review the case law and suggest experiments your experts should carry out to help guard against an adverse Daubert decision.

Steering Committee and Common Benefit Fee Disputes

Mass torts are a bit like the Wild West. Little published case law exists to govern fee disputes among Plaintiffs’ counsel in mass torts, so having a thorough knowledge of the dockets, filings, and resolutions of past disagreements is critical.

Whether you are on a Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee or just have your own inventory on the sidelines, you likely have questions about your next moves. Are members of leadership allowed to settle out their own inventories at a premium? If leadership exits a case, do non-leadership firms gain access to their work product so that they can take their own cases to trial? Is it ever possible (or wise) to file a motion to remove another firm from leadership? We keep up with the latest trends in this emerging area of the law.

JPML Strategy

Few lawyers understand the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (“JPML”). Its short opinions contain scant reasoning, and at times, the Panel’s decisions appear random. To gain insight, we make the most of opportunities to hear from JPML judges about their process—which arguments they like, and which miss the mark. We can help pick the ideal time to file, analyze potential judges or jurisdictions for an MDL, and craft effective arguments for particular venues.

Settlement Agreement Analysis

When one Defendant wants to settle in a mass tort or class action, but others don’t, you need to answer some tough questions:

Does settling with one defendant extinguish others’ liability? Will the settling defendant be an “empty chair” at trial?
How can you ensure a settling defendant continues to cooperate in discovery?
Can other Defendants discover the settlement agreement?
Will the settlement agreement be an issue at trial?
How do different state and federal courts compute setoffs after judgment—is it a dollar-for-dollar reduction, or by percentage of fault?

If you’re wondering about the effects of a potential settlement, have us write you a memo. The cost of a little research will be well worth it down the road.

Mass Torts and Choice Of Law Issues

Mr. Hilton has taught two CLEs on choice of law and is the go-to researcher for some mass tort lawyers on the topic. Whether you’re trying to find a way to avoid statutes of repose or steer the MDL judge toward applying a certain state’s products liability law, we are here to help. Few lawyers enjoy choice of law as much as we do.

Mass Tort Consulting Rates

Our consulting services for mass tort attorneys are either billed at $295 per hour or (for some research memos) done for an affordable flat rate. Reach out to us below to learn more and discuss your individual needs.