Opinion
Docket No. 1474, C.A. No. 4:01-170
August 12, 2002
ORDER DENYING TRANSFER
This litigation consists of thirteen actions listed on the attached Schedule A: ten actions pending in the Southern District of Mississippi and three actions in the Northern District of Mississippi. The Unitrin defendants move the Panel, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1407, for an order centralizing this litigation in the Southern District of Mississippi. All plaintiffs oppose the motion. On the basis of the papers filed and hearing session held, the Panel declines to order Section 1407 centralization. Movants have failed to persuade us that transfer under Section 1407 is justified in this docket in which all actions are pending in adjacent federal districts within one state. We point out that alternatives to Section 1407 transfer exist, including cooperative management of these actions by the involved judges, that can minimize whatever possibilities there might be of duplicative discovery, inconsistent pretrial rulings, or both. See, e.g., In re Chromated Copper Arsenate (CCA) Treated Wood Products Liability Litigation, 188 F. Supp.2d 1380 (J.P.M.L. 2002); see also Manual for Complex Litigation, Third, § 31.14 (1995).
Unitrin, Inc., United Insurance Company of America, Union National Life Insurance Company and Union National Fire Insurance Company.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that the motion, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1407, for centralization of these actions is denied.