Consolidation of Insurance Brokerage Antitrust Litigation

On February 18, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation issued an order consolidating the insurance brokerage misconduct and antitrust cases pending against Marsh & McLennan and others in federal district courts in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania before Judge Faith S. Hochberg of the United States District Court for New Jersey. The panel concluded that common questions of fact prevail in the suits as to an alleged conspiracy to affect the sale of insurance through bid-rigging and "customer allocation" practices. The panel ruled that consolidation would eliminate duplicative discovery and prevent inconsistent ruling with respect to class-certification matters. The panel also granted tag-along status to several later-filed actions pending in the Northern District of California, the Northern District of Illinois, the Southern District of New York, the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the Western District of Tennessee.

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