This article is part of a bimonthly column that "rides the circuit" with the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation as it meets at venues around the country. This installment kicks off the column's 13th year as the panel returns to its usual pattern of holding its January hearing in the Sunshine State — Florida — and this year on the cusp of Pro Bowl Sunday, which will happen in Orlando.
As our readers may remember, the panel deviated from its typical January venue last year and headed west to Santa Barbara, California.
Looking at the panel's docket for this January hearing session, the panel begins the new year on a much busier note than at its last session — with nine new MDL petitions under consideration, one additional petition having recently been withdrawn, as compared to one petition heard at the December session.
