In this law review article, Judge Robreno discusses MDL-875, the Federal Asbestos Multidistrict Litigation that he presided over. The article traces the development of asbestos litigation in the federal courts, rehearses how the crisis came about, its impact on the medical and legal system, and ultimately the successful efforts made by the federal courts to reach a global solution to the asbestos litigation, which grew to over 180,000 cases and more than 10 million claims. In part two, Judge Robreno discusses the implementation by the Multidistrict Litigation Court (MDL-875) of a new paradigm in the litigation which, over a five year period, led to the resolution of the vast majority of cases. The article also seeks to draw lessons from the experiences of the largest and longest running active MDL in the
federal courts and suggests that the asbestos paradigm developed in MDL-875 could well inform the resolution of future mass tort litigation in the federal courts.
“The Federal Asbestos Product Liability Multidistrict Litigation (MDL-875): Black Hole or New Paradigm?.” 23 Widener L.J. 97 (2013).