McGhan Medical Corp. v. Superior Court

We deal here with Code of Civil Procedure section 404 et seq., which provide for the “coordination” of actions. Section 404.6 provides that an order of the superior court either granting or denying coordination may be reviewed by a timely petition for mandamus directed to the Court of Appeal. The petition herein, filed in accordance with that authority, seeks reversal of a superior court order denying coordination.

A great number of complaints have been filed in recent months seeking damages for personal injuries sustained by women who have utilized breast implants. The defendants in these cases are various manufacturers of the implant devices, producers of implant materials, and physicians who prescribed or administered the implants. We are advised by counsel for petitioners that some 600 cases are now pending in over 20 counties in California, and that additional cases are being filed almost daily. Those opposing the petition are more conservative in their estimate of the volume of litigation, but concede that at least 300 separate cases have been filed and are now pending. Since some of these cases involve multiple plaintiffs, and most of them join either several or…