Early applications of Loper Bright suggest that the rollback of Chevron deference could meaningfully reshape agency authority and corporate liability in environmental cases.
If deemed beneficial, parties should discuss these opportunities early in the litigation when considering early technology-enabled MDL census and/or plaintiff fact sheet programs, pleading/census/plaintiff fact sheet deficiency analyses, and other AI-enabled management strategies.
If plaintiffs’ claims are not preempted, then the avenues to avoid preemption of FDA-approved drugs will be expanded well beyond that countenanced by U.S. Supreme Court jurisprudence.
New opportunities exist to better confront the significant data challenges presented by multidistrict litigation for product liability claims now that FRCP 16.1 is in effect and the sophistication of artificial intelligence is continuing to advance.
The new FRCP 16.1 establishes a process by which courts and parties can (and should) engage on key MDL case management issues from the outset of litigation.
Issues, including, notably, the prominent roles causation and product identification are expected to play as microplastics-based products liability claims emerge as an area of litigation.
The product of a nearly eight-year rulemaking process, FRCP 16.1 formalizes MDL case management tools, endorses early judicial engagement with the merits of the case, and establishes a process for picking leadership counsel.
Why we expect a significant responsive uptick in state AG enforcement to fill the vacuum left by DOJ and other federal regulators.
