 Lawsuits against the United States government were delayed six months by the Federal Tort Claims Act. In January 1972, the Gabel family filed a lawsuit against the United States that contained class-action allegations and sought a "declaratory judgment on the issue of liability." The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation decided to move all related court actions to the Central District of California. Eleven actions were transferred in July 1972. The US District Court ordered the transfer of all 72 actions filed in other district courts to be transferred to the jurisdiction of the Central District on March 19, 1973.
