Estimating the Impact of Case Management in MDLs

Case management by judges is increasingly determining the outcome of litigation, particularly in the multidistrict litigation (MDL) process. One concern is that the MDL process pressures defendants to settle, regardless of the merits, and provides insufficient information on the value of individual cases within the MDL. Critics of the MDL system have suggested two management orders as solutions to these problems. The first is Lone Pine orders, which require plaintiffs in an MDL to produce evidence of injury and causation. The second is bellwether trials, in which the court selects certain cases for trial to provide information on the value of claims and encourage settlement. We examine the impact of Lone Pine orders and bellwether trial processes on the outcomes of cases in multidistrict litigation (MDLs). Using data on MDLs from 1992 to 2017, we find that Lone Pine orders are associated with an increase in the number of cases resolved in the MDL process.