The transferee court establishes a master docket for filings applicable to the entire proceeding, with individual member cases retaining their own dockets for case-specific filings.
Orders on the master docket apply to all cases including later-transferred actions.
Alternative Names:
MDL Master Docket, Lead Docket
Why it Matters?
The two-docket structure is a persistent source of error, since counsel monitoring only their individual case docket miss orders entered on the master docket that govern their client. Deadlines imposed at the master level apply without appearing on the member case docket in many courts. Monitoring both is a docketing requirement rather than an option, and it is the mechanism by which newly transferred cases inherit obligations.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
Why monitor both dockets?
What is filed on each?
