An inventory settlement is negotiated between a defendant and one plaintiff firm covering that firm's entire book of related claims. The parties agree on an aggregate amount or a valuation matrix, and the firm allocates among its clients.
Because plaintiff firms in mass torts hold large concentrated inventories, resolving a handful of firms can dispose of a substantial share of the litigation.
Alternative Names:
Inventory Resolution, Firm Inventory Settlement
Why it Matters?
Inventory deals are the practical route to resolving mass tort exposure without a global settlement, and they let a defendant sequence resolution by starting with the firms holding the strongest or largest books. They also raise a real ethics constraint: aggregate settlement rules require each client's informed consent to the total and to the allocation method, which the plaintiff firm must manage carefully.
Frequently Confused with
Frequently asked questions
How does a plaintiff firm allocate an inventory settlement?
What ethics rules apply?
