New Jersey’s federal district has been made the venue for litigation charging that contaminated food caused death or injury to pets, and attorneys on both sides say a settlement could be a few weeks away.

On Feb. 19, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation consolidated suits from around the nation, finding they involve questions of fact common to 31 cases already assigned to U.S. District Judge Noel Hillman, who sits in Camden.