United States Judicial Panel On Multidistrict Litigation Panel Rules On Nationwide Class Action Lawsuits Filed Against DuPont

The United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, agreeing with the arguments of Starr Austen & Miller, LLP, ruled that the Eastern District of Pennsylvania will be the forum to hear all of the class action lawsuits against DuPont regarding their herbicide Imprelis.  DUPONT’S herbicide Imprelis is causing widespread death among trees and other non-targeted vegetation across the country. 

The panel's basis was due to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency office, responsible for the investigation and handling of the Imprelis, was located in Philadelphia.  In addition, the federal courthouse in Philadelphia is in close proximity to DuPont's headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware.  The panel went on to state that the location is within the geographic concentration of Imprelis damage and is a venue with a willing and experienced transferee judge.  

Multidistrict litigation is a procedure utilized in the federal court system to transfer to one federal judge all pending civil cases of a similar type filed throughout the United States. The decision whether cases should be transferred is made by a panel of seven federal judges appointed by the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. The purpose of multidistrict litigation is to prevent different rulings on the same issue.  If one judge is presiding over all pretrial motions and discovery issues, there will be only one decision. 

Additional details on the ruling can be found at:

 http://www.starrausten.com/multidistrict-litigation-panel-rules-on-nationwide-class-action-against-dupont/