Designed as resource for judges to guide them through the complexities of managing mass tort bankruptcy reorganizations, this publication draws lessons from difficult-to-find sources and presents them in a form that is part judicial manual, part treatise, and part case study. Knowledgeable judges and practitioners contributed experiences and ideas. This work will also aid policy makers and academics in their quest for improved methods and procedures for resolving issues related to the large number of personal injury claims in such litigation.

This is an expanded version of a report that was previously published as Appendix E of the Report of the Advisory Group on Civil Rules and the Working Group on Mass Torts (Report on Mass Tort Litigation) February 15, 1999. In this version, the author expands her analysis by examining publicly available information about three additional bankruptcy cases. By broadening the range of the study, she was better able to make direct comparisons of--to evaluate the policy implications of--the processes used in class actions and bankruptcies.

The Mass Torts Working Group, appointed in 1998 by the Chief Justice, asked the Center to conduct a literature review examining problems related to mass torts and to discuss proposals for resolving those problems. This report is the result of that research. It identifies fourteen distinct problems and discusses a variety of case-management, legislative, and rule-making proposals to ameliorate those problems.

This report is reprinted at 187 Federal Rules Decisions 328 (1999).