Today, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) approved consolidation of lawsuits against two huge daily fantasy sports sites. It’s a touchdown for FanDuel, DraftKings plaintiffs: MDL approved. The new MDL will make it home in Massachusetts federal court, proper forum for both FanDuel, Inc. and DraftKings, Inc.
Today, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) approved consolidation of lawsuits against two huge daily fantasy sports sites. It’s a touchdown for FanDuel, DraftKings plaintiffs: MDL approved. The new MDL will make it home in Massachusetts federal court, proper forum for both FanDuel, Inc. and DraftKings, Inc.
The cases consolidated in the MDL don’t all spring from the same theory of liability. However, the JPML found enough similarities that the most efficient move was consolidation, at least for pretrial purposes.
The JPML said, “A significant number of related actions that encompass all three theories of liability are pending in the district. The District of Massachusetts presents a convenient and accessible forum with a significant connection to this litigation. DraftKings is headquartered in the district and the individual defendants reside either in the district or nearby, which will facilitate discovery.”
Multidistrict litigation is a judicial tool of convenience. An MDL combines individual cases from various jurisdictional venues and transfers them to one court. Unlike class-action lawsuit, cases in an MDL are resolved on an individual basis, often being sent back to the courts of original filing for trial. However, the pre-trial proceedings, including discovery, fall under the MDL. In other words, these time-consuming and often expensive parts of litigation are done once for all cases, as opposed to once for each individual case.
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