[20211117]IF11976_多地区和多回路诉讼：协调相关联邦案件.pdf

https:/crsreports.congress.gov November 17, 2021Multidistrict and Multicircuit Litigation: Coordinating Related Federal CasesSometimes a single event or a common set of facts spurs litigation in multiple federal courts. For instance, a plane crash or a widespread product defect may affect individuals from many states and lead to numerous related district court lawsuits, or a federal regulation with national reach may trigger petitions for review in several federal appeals courts. Such proceedings are known as multidistrict litigation or MDL at the district court level and multicircuit petitions for review at the circuit court level. Congress has enacted statutes creating special procedures for both MDL and multicircuit petitions with the goal of allocating judicial resources efficiently and ensuring consistency across related cases. District Court MDL The procedures governing MDL in the trial-level federal district courts date from the 1960s. Between the 1940s and the early 1960s, the federal courts grappled with how to address the increasing complexity of federal litigation, particularly the proliferation of multiple cases raising overlapping questions of law and fact. In the ear