Chambers Handbook for Judges - Federal Judicial Center

D. Multidistrict Litigation Problems
If civil actions involving one or more common questions of fact are
pending in different districts, either the plaintiff or defendant may
petition the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPMDL) to transfer
the cases to a single district and to consolidate them for pretrial
proceedings. See 28 U.S.C. § 1407. The rules of the panel are found in
the rules section of Title 28 and in the Manual for Complex Litigation,
available in the judge’s library. If the panel decides that the cases should
be consolidated, it enters an appropriate order and all of the cases are
transferred to the district designated by the panel.
The district judge may independently invoke intervention of the
JPMDL by writing the panel at the address listed in the United States
Court Directory. The letter should say that the court has a case that may
be related to a case or cases pending in another district, giving the
name and docket number of each case, and that it might be worthwhile
for the panel to examine these cases to determine whether pretrial
consolidation would be appropriate. The judge will attach to the
letter a copy of the complaint in the case pending in his or her court
and any other documents that may be useful to the panel. The judge
might also wish to send copies to counsel.
The functions of the JPMDL are discussed at section 3-5.D.1 infra.
Any unanswered questions about multidistrict litigation procedures
should be directed to the law clerk of the panel, who is listed in the
United States Court Directory.
E. Service of Summons and Complaint; Waiver of Service
The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure give the plaintiff the option of
notifying a defendant of the commencement of a lawsuit by (1) serving
the defendant with a summons and a copy of the complaint, or (2)
providing the defendant with written notice of the lawsuit, along with
a request that the defendant waive service of the summons, in order to
avoid the costs of service. Service of a summons or filing a waiver of
service establishes jurisdiction over the person of a defendant, subject
to the territorial limits upon effective service contained in Federal Rule
of Civil Procedure 4(k).
26 Chambers Handbook for Judges’ Law Clerks and Secretaries