Multidistrict Litigation and Personal Jurisdiction

Authors

Zachary T. Nelson

Author Details

Zachary T. Nelson, J.D. 2019, Lewis & Clark Law School.

First Page

709

Abstract

Under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause, a court cannot lawfully adjudicate a party’s rights or obligations unless, among other things, that court possesses sufficient personal jurisdiction over the party. The means by which a court may obtain such jurisdiction have grown increasingly narrow in recent years. Parallel to that trend has been the meteoric rise of multidistrict litigation (MDL), in which the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation transfers and consolidates numerous civil cases in a single federal court that, in many instances, lacks personal jurisdiction over one or more parties. Although MDL is statutorily limited to “pretrial proceedings,” 97% of cases transferred into MDL do not make it to trial. By one estimate, 52% of civil cases in federal court are in MDLs. Consequently, nearly half of the federal civil docket is being resolved by courts that lack personal jurisdiction.

With MDL’s share of the federal civil docket increasing, and Fourteenth Amendment personal jurisdiction doctrine tightening, it is only a matter of time before litigants begin mounting constitutional challenges to the jurisdictional competency of MDL courts. Those challenges will largely be premised on Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Superior Court of California, 137 S. Ct. 1773 (2017), and Phillips Petroleum Co. v. Shutts, 472 U.S. 797 (1985). Courts facing such claims have several options. This Note discusses the most prominent options and argues that the best path forward for courts is to interpret the MDL statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1407, as authorizing nationwide personal jurisdiction in MDL courts. Many disapprove of that interpretation. But it is supported by the text, function, and purpose of the statute. Moreover, it is the only option that avoids the pitfalls of Fourteenth Amendment personal jurisdiction doctrine, puts current practice on solid legal ground, and preserves the benefits of MDL.

Recommended Citation

Zachary T. Nelson, Multidistrict Litigation and Personal Jurisdiction, 24 Lewis & Clark L. Rev. 709 (2020).
Available at: https://lawcommons.lclark.edu/lclr/vol24/iss2/16