Mass tort litigation too often fails to fairly compensate victims. Rather, the most common outcome of these cases is that it forces productive businesses to waste time and money defending themselves against claims that typically lack merit. The capital that mass torts extract from the U.S. economy is making the United States a less prosperous nation.
Mass tort litigations often involve a procedural process known as multidistrict litigation (MDL). This process was conceived to more efficiently move large numbers of related civil lawsuits through the federal court system by consolidating them into one case. However, instead of making the process easier, they have become a cash cow for trial attorneys and their financial backers. These lawsuits clog courtrooms with frequently baseless claims of personal injury. As of 2023, MDLs make up 65 percent of the federal civil caseload, a far bigger share than the 38 percent a decade ago.
The dollar figures associated with the various aspects of MDLs and mass tort litigation are staggering. In fact, billions of dollars have been allocated towards legal advertising over just the last few years. Much of it is aimed at identifying potential clients for mass tort suits and is financed in large part by outside financial backers who have no legal connection to the case itself.