Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation

The United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (J.P.M.L. or the Panel) is a special body within the United States federal court system which manages multidistrict litigation. It was established by Congress in 1968 by Pub.L. 90–296, and has the authority to determine whether civil actions pending in two or more federal judicial districts should be transferred to a single federal district court for pretrial proceedings.[1][2] If such cases are determined to involve one or more common questions of fact and are transferred, the Panel will then select the district court and assign a judge or judges to preside over the 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.[3]

United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation
(J.P.M.L.)
LocationThurgood Marshall Federal Judiciary Building
(Washington, D.C.)
Established1968
AuthorityArticle III court
Created by28 U.S.C. § 1407 & § 2112
Composition methodChief Justice appointment
Judges7
ChairmanKaren K. Caldwell
www.jpml.uscourts.gov

The Chief Justice of the United States, currently John Roberts, appoints the members of the Panel, which is composed of no more than seven United States federal judges serving on either district courts or courts of appeals. All panel members must be from different judicial circuits. In addition to their participation on the Panel, the members continue to serve as judges for the courts to which they were originally appointed.[3] The Panel convenes hearings in various locations around the country to facilitate the participation of parties and their counsel. The Office of the Clerk of the Panel is located at the Thurgood Marshall Federal Judiciary Building in Washington, D.C.

As of September 30, 2018, the Panel has centralized 1,722 dockets involving more than 673,000 individual cases. There have been 1,131 additional docket requests that were not centralized. 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.[4]

Current composition of the panel

The following members comprise the panel:[5]

Name Title Court Appointer
Karen K. Caldwell (Chair) District Judge Eastern District of Kentucky John Roberts
Catherine D. Perry Senior District Judge Eastern District of Missouri
Nathaniel M. Gorton District Judge District of Massachusetts
Matthew F. Kennelly District Judge Northern District of Illinois
David C. Norton District Judge District of South Carolina
Roger T. Benitez Senior District Judge Southern District of California
Dale A. Kimball Senior District Judge District of Utah

References
  1. "Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation". Federal Judicial Center. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  2. 28 U.S.C. § 1407
  3. "Overview of Panel | Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation | United States". Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
  4. "Statistical Information | Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation | United States". Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
  5. "ROSTER OF CURRENT AND FORMER JUDGES OF THE UNITED STATES JUDICIAL PANEL ON MULTIDISTRICT LITIGATION" (PDF). Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation. Retrieved April 10, 2020.

Karen K. Caldwell

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