According to a report released by the federal judiciary on Tuesday, the number of new lawsuits filed in federal courts during the 2023 fiscal year increased significantly by 24%, largely due to a surge in claims from individuals who claim to have been harmed by products such as 3M's earplugs designed for military use and Johnson & Johnson's baby powder.
The rise in civil lawsuits filed in the fiscal year ending in September changed following two consecutive years of decreases in new case filings in federal court. The judiciary had linked the declines partly to disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The increase in new legal cases in fiscal year 2023 occurred while other actions in the federal system decreased, such as a 3% decline in new criminal cases and a 4% decrease in filings in regional appeals courts.
According to judicial reports, the number of criminal cases involving drug-related offenses decreased by 8% to 18,103, accounting for approximately 27% of the total criminal caseload.
A surge in civil litigation resulted in a notable jump of 18% in the judiciary’s overall caseload, with 405,878 new cases recorded in 2023.
The judiciary’s annual report stated that a significant portion of the rise in civil cases was due to a 47% increase in the diversity of citizenship cases involving disputes between individuals from different states. Personal injury cases also substantially increased by 66% to 117,705 cases.
Much of the growth was attributed to large-scale tort claims bundled together in multidistrict lawsuits. Notably, when these mass tort cases were set aside, civil lawsuits rose 10% over the past year.
Last year, there was a significant increase in cases filed in Florida’s Northern District, with 47,650 cases reported. This rise of 38% is linked to a higher number of lawsuits being combined and presented before a judge, mainly by U.S. military veterans and service members. These individuals claim to have experienced hearing loss due to the use of 3M’s combat earplugs.
In late August, 3M reached a historic agreement to pay $6.01 billion to resolve a massive cluster of lawsuits, which had collectively become the largest federal multidistrict litigation case in the United States, comprising over 276,000 individual claims, according to court records.
In New Jersey, a staggering 310% surge was seen in personal injury lawsuits within the healthcare and pharmaceutical industry, primarily driven by claims that Johnson & Johnson’s talcum powder products, including its famous baby powder, were linked to cancer diagnoses in individuals.
There are currently around 53,800 legal cases against J&J awaiting resolution. These lawsuits were paused for approximately two years as J&J tried to address its talc-related financial responsibilities in bankruptcy court. However, the courts rejected the bankruptcy filings, enabling the legal proceedings to recommence last year.
In the Northern District of Illinois, there was a significant rise of 1,421% in product liability cases, reaching 8,487. These cases involve lawsuits alleging that chemical hair relaxer products manufactured by L’Oreal USA, Revlon, and other companies are linked to cancer and various injuries.
In each of these instances, the companies have maintained their innocence.
