The United States Judicial Panel On Multidistrict Litigation has ordered that all federal gadolinium lawsuits filed on behalf of individuals diagnosed with NSF beconsolidated in an MDL, or Multidistrict Litigation, before Judge Dan Polster in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. This will be referred to as MDL 1909. The Court will hold a status conference on September 24, 2008.

It is anticipated that issues related to discovery in the cases and a proposed scheduling order will be discussed.

In documents filed by the defendants in advance of the hearing, lawyers indicate that there are currently 287 nephrogenic systemic fibrosis lawsuits that have been filed in the MDL. Another 104 cases have been filed in various state courts, with 53 in New Jersey, 14 in Pennsylvania, 25 in California, 3 in Alabama, 6 in Illinois, and 1 each in Missouri, Delaware, and New York. There are also likely a few hundred additional cases that are still being investigated by gadolinium lawyers, which have not yet been filed.