Multidistrict Litigation (MDL)

Multidistrict litigation is a federal procedure that transfers civil cases sharing common factual questions to one district court for coordinated pretrial proceedings. Coordination can reduce duplicate discovery and inconsistent rulings. Each transferred case generally remains an individual lawsuit. Cases that do not resolve can be returned to their original courts for trial, subject to applicable procedure. An MDL is different from a class action and does not guarantee a global settlement.