A DUBIOUS EXERCISE OF CASE CONSOLIDATION: CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY v. BP AMERICA PRODUCTION CO.

The explosion of the Deepwater Horizon and the dispersal of millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 generated a mass of litigation. To organize and manage this complex mass, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana created "pleading bundles," which consolidated similar cases, and provided that each bundle must file a single complaint on behalf of the entire group. In Center for Biological Diversity v. BP America Production Co., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court's dismissal of most of the Center for Biological Diversity's claims on the grounds of mootness, and further concluded that the district court was within its discretion when placing the Center's case into a pleading bundle that did not recognize all of the Center's claims. This Comment argues that the district court's consolidation technique prejudiced the Center and was inappropriate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]