LIVE
Home/Glossary/Multidistrict Litigation (MDL)

Glossary

Multidistrict Litigation (MDL)

Plain-language definition

A federal procedure that consolidates civil cases sharing common factual questions before a single judge for coordinated pretrial proceedings.

Legal definition

Under 28 U.S.C. § 1407, the United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation may transfer civil actions involving one or more common questions of fact pending in different federal districts to a single district for coordinated or consolidated pretrial proceedings, including discovery, dispositive motions, and bellwether trials. Cases not resolved during MDL proceedings are remanded to the originating district for trial.

Related torts

Related topics