Case docket
In re: Society Insurance Company COVID-19 Business Interruption Protection Insurance Litigation — J.P.M.L. filings
In re: Society Insurance Company COVID-19 Business Interruption Protection Insurance Litigation — 8 court filings in the archive from U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, filed between August 26, 2020 and April 6, 2021. Among them: 2 response or reply and 1 order.
Shares documents with: In re Society Insurance Co. COVID-19 Business Interruption Protection Insurance Litigation — 5 public filings; 1 document appears on both pages.
Case facts
| Court | U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation |
|---|---|
| Filings | 8 public filings |
| Filed | 2020-08-26 – 2021-04-06 |
| Document types | response or reply (2), order (1) |
| Original PDFs | 8 of 8 |
Case summary
This page collects seven filings from the United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation in MDL No. 2964, dated between August 26, 2020 and April 6, 2021. At its July 2020 hearing session the Panel had denied industry-wide centralisation in MDL No. 2942 and instead directed parties to actions against a common insurer to show cause why those actions should not be centralised. The responses on this page come from several plaintiff groups, some supporting transfer to the Northern District of Illinois and some opposing centralisation, and from Society Insurance Company, which opposed it. By transfer order of October 2, 2020 the Panel centralised the actions listed on Schedule A in the Northern District of Illinois before Judge Edmond E. Chang. An order of April 6, 2021 vacated a conditional transfer order in one tag-along action.
Case at a glance
| Parties | Plaintiffs in 34 actions against Society Insurance Company, including the Barn, Rising Dough, Whistler and Sleeping Village, Big Onion and Billy Goat plaintiffs; defendant Society Insurance Company; two amici curiae |
|---|---|
| Court and docket | United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, MDL No. 2964 |
| Program | Not named in the filings on this page. The actions concern insurance claims for business interruption losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the related government orders |
| Claims | Motions and responses on centralisation under 28 U.S.C. § 1407, following the Panel's show cause order; no merits claim is decided on this page |
| Disposition or status | The Schedule A actions pending outside the Northern District of Illinois were transferred there on October 2, 2020 and assigned to Judge Edmond E. Chang for coordinated or consolidated pretrial proceedings. Conditional transfer order CTO-4 was vacated on April 6, 2021 |
| Status checked | 2026-09-23 · against DOJ press releases through 2026-09-22; court docket not yet read |
What did the Panel decide?
That centralisation of the Society actions listed on Schedule A would serve the convenience of the parties and witnesses and further the just and efficient conduct of the litigation, and it transferred those actions pending outside the Northern District of Illinois to that district for coordinated or consolidated pretrial proceedings.
Why a Society-specific MDL rather than an industry-wide one?
The Panel had denied industry-wide motions in August 2020, concluding that the differences among the many insurers would overwhelm any common factual questions, and then ordered parties in actions involving a common insurer to show cause. It found the Northern District of Illinois the center of gravity, with 22 of the 34 pending cases filed there.
What was vacated on April 6, 2021?
Conditional transfer order CTO-4, filed February 23, 2021 in Highland Management Group, LLC v. Society Insurance, et al., S.D. Illinois, C.A. No. 3:21-00172, after the Panel was informed that Highland had been remanded to the Circuit Court for the Third Judicial Circuit, Madison, Illinois, by an order filed April 2, 2021.
Summary written from the documents on this page; every sentence is sourced.
Filings
8 public filings from this case, in filing-date order.
- Barn Plaintiffs' interested-party response — In re Society…PDF
- Plaintiffs' joint response supporting transfer (JDS 1455)PDF
- Response to Order to Show Cause (Society Insurance)Response or reply · PDF
- Plaintiffs' reply to responses to OSC (Rising Dough)PDF
- Reply in response to OSC (Society Insurance) — In re Society Insurance COVID-19 BI LitigationResponse or reply · PDF
- Whistler & Sleeping Village interested-party responsePDF
- JPML Transfer Order — In re Society Insurance COVID-19 BI LitigationPDF
- Order Vacating Conditional Transfer Order (Highland)Order · PDF
Court, dates and docket numbers are as recorded on the filings.