Lawyers for civil justice

The Advisory Committee on Civil Rules at its Fall meeting has initiated action on third-party litigation funding. This is a significant step toward a possible uniform rule in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure on TPLF disclosure. The Advisory Committee’s action at its October 10 meeting followed a letter by 124 major companies and a concurrent LCJ and ILR comment to the Advisory Committee filed urging action on clear and uniform TPLF disclosure rules. Additional details on these developments, including LCJ’s statement in response to the Advisory Committee’s action, follow.

LCJ is heading to Nashville for its Fall Meeting, taking place from December 4-6, 2024! Registration is now open, so don’t miss your chance to join us in Music City for an exciting program. Be sure to check your emails for all the details and secure your spot today!

Click here to see final agenda.

LCJ’s amicus brief in In re FirstEnergy Corporation urges the Sixth Circuit to reverse an Ohio federal judge’s ruling restricting the attorney-client privilege in an internal investigation.

LCJ’s amicus brief in Drummond v. Progressive Specialty Insurance Co. urges the Third Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse an Eastern District of Pennsylvania federal court’s certification of a class action on the basis of a “common question” that does not indicate that any breach of contract or that the claims are consistent across the class.

Amended FRE 702, clarifying standards that trial courts must follow to meet “gatekeeping” requirements for expert evidence admissibility, is having a significant impact on federal court practices, and similar amendments are now being adopted by leading state courts around the country. The amendment, influenced by years of focused advocacy by LCJ and its members, is “important to our system of justice,” said former LCJ president John Kuppens. LCJ is educating the bench and bar on how amended Rule 702 should be implemented to improve fairness and is working with members and allies who are advocating for similar improvements in state rules.

LCJ’s amicus brief in In Re Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc. Stockholders Litigation urges the Delaware Chancery Court to uphold the well-accepted “reasonable anticipation or actual notice of imminent litigation” trigger for the duty to preserve information, and not to impose a new per se sanction against the use of ephemeral communications.

The next step toward approval of proposed FRCP Rule 16.1—which will help avoid problems caused by insufficient claims in multidistrict litigation (MDL) proceedings and provide guidance for early MDL management decisions—will occur in mid-September, when the U.S. Judicial Conference is expected to approve the proposal for consideration by the Supreme Court. LCJ is leading the corporate and defense bar’s advocacy for the development of transparent, rules-based procedures to remedy the lack of balance and predictability resulting from ad hoc practices in many MDLs.

The next step toward approval of the proposed FRCP amendments which will address unnecessarily burdensome privilege logging will occur in mid-September, when the U.S. Judicial Conference is expected to approve the proposal for consideration by the Supreme Court. LCJ is leading the corporate and defense bar’s advocacy for FRCP amendments that will reduce the burdens, expense, and gamesmanship related to the inappropriate default to document-by-document privilege logs.