Welcome to Critical Mass, Law.com's weekly briefing on class actions and mass torts. Happy New Year! This week, we'll look at what to watch in 2019. Also, is one of your New Year's resolutions to get on an MDL leadership committee? Read on about an upcoming program that might help.

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What to Watch in 2019

2019 is looking to be a very busy year for mass torts. Here's what to keep your eyes on in the months ahead:

➤➤ Opioids. The first trial against the manufacturers and distributors of opioidsis expected this year, though it's not clear where it might be. There is a Sept. 3 trial date in the federal multidistrict litigation in Cleveland before U.S. District Judge Dan Polster. In state courts, the state of Oklahoma has a trial date set for May 28, and some California counties could go to trial on June 18. Of course, trial dates could change. And lawyers instead could reach a global settlement of the litigation, which would probably please Polster—he wanted that to happen in 2018.

➤➤ Talcum powder. Trials over Johnson & Johnson's baby powder will be sprinkled throughout 2019. Some will have multiple plaintiffs—a factor in last year's $4.7 billion jury verdict in St. Louis. Plaintiffs' attorney Ted Meadows (Beasley Allen) said he's got a trial in the city in January with 13 plaintiffs, along with a March trial in Atlanta for a single plaintiff, and another St. Louis trial with 20 plaintiffs in August. Mark Lanier (The Lanier Law Firm), who won the $4.7 billion verdict, said he has 22 plaintiffs going to trial in April, and 20 others in September—both in St. Louis. Trials tying Johnson & Johnson's talcum powder products to mesothelioma also are expected this year.

➤➤ Data Breaches. Class actions over the nation's largest data breaches will be litigated this year: Marriott faces 50 lawsuits so far over a breach announced on Nov. 30; Yahoo's $85 million settlement faces judicial scrutiny; Equifax is hoping to dismiss its breach lawsuits; and lawyers are watching for the federal D.C. Circuit's decision in the U.S. Office of Personnel Management's data breach case. Expect more to come, said John Yanchunis (Morgan & Morgan): “An increasing number of companies and other entries which hold the personal information of consumers will be targeted. I expect courts will continue to refine and update the law, which in large part is grounded on 19th century concepts.”

➤➤ Roundup. Coming off a $289 million verdict in California state court, plaintiffs' lawyers are confident about a slate of trials in 2019 alleging Monsanto's herbicide Roundup causes cancer. The first federal trial in the multidistrict litigation starts on Feb. 25 in San Francisco, with a second on May 25. Another state court trial in California begins on March 18. At least four more trials are scheduled in St. Louis, Monsanto's headquarters—some with multiple plaintiffs. “Either way, Monsanto is in trouble,” said Pedram Esfandiary (Baum Hedlund).

➤➤ Attorney fees: Federal judges in 2018 took an uncomfortably close look at the attorney fees in class action settlements, so expect more this year. U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California, where the Northern District just released groundbreaking class action guidance, was “deeply disappointed” in the billing behind a $38 million fee request by four law firms that handled the Anthem data breach settlement. U.S. District Judge Mark Wolf in Boston is reviewing a compromise deal struck by lead plaintiffs' firms in cases against State Street after a special master recommended they return $10 million of their $75 million fee. And objector counsel Ted Frank (Competitive Enterprise Institute) predicted more overbilling issues in 2019. However, he added: “Perhaps Judge Wolf's ultimate decision in State Street will adequately punish class counsel and get enough attention from the bench for other judges to follow suit.”

A New Opportunity to Get That MDL Appointment?

Duke Law School's Bolch Judicial Institute is offering a new certificate programfocused on getting a leadership appointment in multidistrict litigation. Here's the link. Five judges, including U.S. District Judges Eldon Fallon and David Herndon, and 18 lawyers, including Elizabeth Cabraser (Lieff Cabraser) and Joe Rice(Motley Rice), will teach the 3-day program, which runs March 13 through March 15 this year. It's designed to help women and minority attorneys get more prime roles in MDLs. It costs $1,895 if you sign up before Feb. 15, and scholarships are available. I spoke to the institute's director, John Rabiej, about the program.

Q: How did you come up with this idea?

A: We were making this big push for inclusivity, getting women and diverse lawyers into the leadership program, being appointed as leaders in mass torts. I got the idea at our last conference when I had an African American judge, a buddy of mine from Texas, say the conference is wonderful but some of my African American colleagues, lawyers, came up to me, and asked: how do you get into this thing? We'd like to participate in mass torts.

Q: How do you think the program will help lawyers get these appointments?

A: There are only a handful of people who are the top lawyers here, and if I can get them in a room, the value is obvious there: you can network and deal face-to-face with people, the movers and shakers in the area.

Here's what else is going on:

➤➤ Overdrive. Even after paying $20 billion to settle legal actions over the “clean diesel” emissions scandal, Volkswagen still faces lawsuits brought by state attorneys general seeking billions of dollars based on local environmental laws. So far, judges have split on whether to dismiss those cases as preempted under the federal Clean Air Act. The automaker then scored two big wins last month when a judge dismissed the state of Ohio's case and an appeals court, in a split and unpublished decision, reversed a lower court ruling that had allowed some of thestate of Minnesota's claims to go forward. Volkswagen still awaits rulings in cases brought by the states of Montana and New Mexico.

➤➤ MDL: Miami. The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation has its next hearing on Jan. 31 in Miami. Plaintiffs' lawyers and Marriott's attorneys have asked to coordinate more than 50 class actions in Maryland filed over Marriott's data breach. Plaintiffs' lawyers are also asking that a New Jersey judge oversee more than 15 cases brought over recalls of generic blood pressure medication valsartan.

Thanks for reading Critical Mass! I'll see you next week.