Robert H. Klonoff
| Chapter 11, Part I (Mass Torts) |
Introduction to Part I |
I. Mass Torts
No area of class-action law has generated more judicial and scholarly
debate than mass tort class actions. A key element of that controversy
arises from the 1966 Advisory Committee Notes, which state:
A "mass accident" resulting in injuries to numerous persons is ordinarily
not appropriate for a class action because of the likelihood that significant
questions, not only of damages but of liability and defenses of liability,
would be present, affecting the individuals in different ways. In these
circumstances an action conducted nominally as a class action would degenerate
in practice into multiple lawsuits separately tried.
This note caused a number of early courts to refuse to certify mass tort cases.
Later, several courts sought ways to certify mass tort class actions notwithstanding
the concerns expressed by the Advisory Committee. Recently, however, a
number of courts have again begun to view mass tort class actions with
skepticism. This subchapter provides a brief historical overview of mass
tort class actions and surveys some of the key issues facing courts today.
Preliminarily, it is important to define the term "mass tort." At
its broadest, the term can apply to any multi?party lawsuit involving
tort claims. In general, the term is used to describe either (i) a mass
accident (a single event, such as an airplane crash, involving injuries
to many people) or (ii) personal injuries on a widespread basis, typically
involving allegedly defective products (such as breast implants or other
medical devices). Mass tort cases may also involve widespread damage to
property or other economic loss. In explaining the differences between
these kinds of cases, the Manual for Complex Litigation (3d) notes:
"In mass disaster litigation, the injuries occur at a single site and
usually manifest themselves immediately; in mass toxic tort or defective
product litigation injuries may occur in numerous widely dispersed locations,
at different times, and their full effect may remain hidden for years."
As a general proposition, despite the cautionary language in the Advisory
Committee Notes with respect to "mass accidents," courts have been more
willing to certify mass accident cases than they have been to certify
personal injury mass torts not involving a single event.
Copyright © 1999 West Group
| 
