The Judicial Conference of the United States announced it has adopted Rule 16.1, which requires federal courts to review injury claims in multidistrict mass tort cases.
According to Restoration News, unvetted claims in multidistrict litigations have previously led to costly settlements, such as 3M's $6.01 billion Combat Arms earplug case, where 25.2 percent of Wave 1 plaintiffs submitted no evidence. Multidistrict cases now constitute nearly 70 percent of the federal docket, a significant increase from 29 percent in 2012, indicating the expansion of this litigation type.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce reported that Virginia faces a tort burden per household of $2,968, with total tort costs amounting to $9.77 billion, accounting for 1.5 percent of the state's gross domestic product (GDP). Tort costs in Virginia have grown at an average annual rate of 6.1 percent from 2016 through 2022.
Furthermore, the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform noted that costs and compensation within the U.S. tort system reached over $529 billion in 2022, equating to more than $4,200 per household and representing 2.1 percent of the nation's GDP. The average annual growth rate for tort costs was recorded at 7.1 percent between 2016 and 2022.
The Judicial Conference of the United States was established by Congress in 1922 with the primary goal of developing policy guidelines for judicial court administration across the country. Led by the Chief Justice of the United States, it includes chief judges from each federal regional circuit court of appeals and district court judges from various federal judicial districts along with the chief judge of the United States Court of International Trade. The Conference meets biannually to address administrative and policy matters impacting the federal court system.
