American psychologist Abraham Maslow famously said, “If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.” For state attorneys general, lawsuits are their hammers, and they are constantly searching for additional, bigger hammers.
Right now, state attorneys general, led by New York’s Letitia James, are urging Congress to give them a shiny, Thor-sized hammer for antitrust litigation. The State Antitrust Enforcement Venue Act of 2021, which is currently under consideration in Congress, would categorically eliminate State antitrust actions from the federal Multi-District Litigation (MDL) system.
For decades, MDLs have centralized pretrial proceedings when large numbers of similar cases, including state antitrust claims, are filed against the same business involving the same set of allegations. Although not perfect, this system provides the parties and courts with a useful tool for resolving disputes.
