This Committee was created to address both current and emerging issues that arise in a broad spectrum of substantive areas, where the common denominators are the large number of plaintiffs asserting the claims, and the type of claims being a tort in the broadest sense of the word. Thus, this Committee focuses on the substantive and procedural developments in the case law, proposed reforms, and best practice techniques in cases that may involve environmental, toxic torts, pharmaceutical, various types of products liability litigation, aviation, antitrust, securities litigation, and employment claims.

The Committee is also dealing with the management aspects of mass tort litigation, including class action issues, joinder of multiple parties, and the use of ADR in such a context. Every effort is made to have an ecumenical membership that includes demographic diversity as well as representation among the plaintiff’s bar, the defense bar, academia, and in-house counsel. The Committee has established subcommittees to provide a variety of benefits to its members, which includes programming at the Litigation Section’s Annual Conference and the ABA’s Annual Meeting, as well as co-sponsorship of an annual two-day joint CLE seminar with the Products Liability and Environmental Litigation Committees.

The Winter 2010 edition of the Mass Torts Litigation newsletter is now available.

» View the Newsletter | 

As much as ambitious litigators on both sides might enjoy the challenge of arguing thousands of individual
claims to a jury, the overwhelming majority of civil cases in this country are not tried.

(This is a two-part article on mass tort settlements and was first published in The Environmental Litigator,)

In 2007, the United States Supreme Court announced a new standard upon which pleadings will be analyzed. See Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed. 2d 929 (2007). In doing so, the Court overruled fifty years of precedent holding that a complaint should only be dismissed for failure to state a claim if it appeared beyond a doubt that the plaintiff could prove no set of facts to support his claim to relief.

Wyeth v. Levine began with a migraine headache and evolved into a highly publicized showdown between the state jury system and federal preemption.

Aviation Litigation 2010 & Beyond: Practice, Procedure & Posture

June 3, 2010

New York City Bar Association
New York, NY

Please join us for a full day examination of litigating mass disaster and other complex tort cases in today's challenging economic environment. From initial investigation to preparation for trial: Identifying the critical issues; devising and revising end-game strategy during investigation and discovery; navigating e-discovery issues;  keeping the case on track and meeting client expectations; evaluating risk of trial versus potential settlement. Meet our experienced aviation, mass tort and products liability litigators along with clients, consultants, and insurers, who will provide their insight and advice on these critical issues.