Mass-tort Bankruptcies bench-bar leadership conference

The number of significant mass-tort bankruptcy filings is rising, e.g., LTL Management (J & J Talcum Powder), 3M Combat Earplug, Hair Relaxer, Boy Scouts, and Opioid bankruptcies.  The interplay between bankruptcy and the tort system under such circumstances, often involving an MDL, raises issues of first impression. The bench and bar have struggled to develop effective and fair practices and procedures to meet these new challenges.

The Center will hold a bench-bar leadership conference addressing issues arising in mass-tort bankruptcies in November 2024. The conference will address judicial estimation of tort claims, the feasibility of amending Bankruptcy Rule 9031 to permit the appointment of a special master, the revision of proof of claims to require additional information and postpone the bar dates for tort claims, as well as examining the treatment of settlements and judgments in the MDL after the reorganization plan has been approved.  The bankruptcy court’s use of a Rule 706 expert to estimate the value of all tort claims will be considered as a model in mass-tort MDLs as a means to facilitate settlement negotiations (not to set a settlement cap).