Rescuing multidistrict litigation from the altar of expediency

The notion that judicial process must be compromised because of the perceived exigencies of expansive litigation is well illustrated by the widespread misinterpretation of 28 USC Section 1407 as allowing so-called "self-transfers" in cases involving multidistrict litigation (MDL). Though lawless, this practice has been perpetuated among the lower federal courts in the erroneous belief that it promotes judicial economy. This concession to perceived expediency at the expense of judicial process, however, has not gone unnoticed. The US Supreme Court has granted certiorari to review the legality of self-transfers in Lexecon Inc. v. Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach. An article provides the first attempt to analyze the policy issues underlying self-transfer in the context of the Lexecon case. The article demonstrates that sound judicial policy is undermined by the application of the self-transfer mechanism because it introduces multiple anomalies into the adjudication of MDL.