It appears that the lessons of the Asbestos Cases have not been learned, for we in the antitrust field now seem headed down the same road. Settlement As noted, settlement is made more difficult when there is multiforum litigation. A judge has some leverage over the parties before the court but very little over parties in other jurisdictions. A defendant in settling a case is essentially buying peace. Multiforum cases encourage strategic behavior.
Plaintiffs can hold up a settlement by demanding a larger piece of the settlement pie.
Once that demand is acceded to, it may trigger a cascade of similar requests which would then doom any settlement. Nor would a defendant normally be willing to buy off some plaintiffs and not others. Tactically, such a policy is bad because the defendant would still face the costs of a trial and whatever settlement paid to one plaintiff becomes a mere bargaining chip in subsequent negotiations. Conflict of Laws Multiforum litigation creates a serious conflict of laws problem that the federal courts have yet to confront head-on. In so holding, the Supreme Court identified the nearly impossible task of tracing overcharges through the chain of distribution as a strong reason for barring indirect purchaser claims.