Glossary
Plain-language and authoritative legal definitions for every core mass tort term.
A federal procedure that consolidates civil cases sharing common factual questions before a single judge for coordinated pretrial proceedings.
A representative test case tried early in an MDL to gauge jury reactions and inform settlement valuation across the remaining inventory.
A 0-100 composite score measuring mass tort momentum and attorney opportunity using plaintiff filings, defendant exposure, bellwether proximity, and science strength.
An attorney leadership body appointed by an MDL judge to manage discovery, motion practice, and bellwether trials on behalf of all plaintiffs.
The seven-judge federal panel that decides whether to consolidate related civil actions pending in different federal districts into an MDL.
A pretrial proceeding in which the court evaluates whether proffered expert testimony meets reliability and relevance standards under Federal Rule of Evidence 702.
A civil action brought by many plaintiffs against one or a few defendants for harm caused by a shared product, exposure, or course of conduct.
A jurisdiction-specific deadline by which a plaintiff must file suit; in mass torts, often triggered by the discovery rule.
Damages awarded beyond compensatory amounts to punish a defendant for willful, malicious, or reckless conduct and to deter similar future conduct.
A pool of money agreed to by a defendant to resolve claims in a mass tort, typically distributed through a points-based matrix to qualifying plaintiffs.
The pretrial process by which parties exchange documents, written answers, depositions, and expert reports to develop the evidentiary record.
A lawsuit in which one or more named plaintiffs sue on behalf of a class of similarly situated persons under Federal Rule 23.