Judges Reject Second Attempt To Centralize Video Game Addiction Lawsuits

Many of the lawsuits name unspecified defendants, which the JPML fears could lead to the litigation expanding out of control.

The U.S. Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) has again refused to consolidate all federal video game addiction lawsuits before one judge for coordinated pretrial proceedings, despite efforts by plaintiffs to focus on just a handful of highly popular “gateway” games blamed for causing teens and young adults to develop gaming addictions at alarming rates.

The makers of Minecraft, Fortnite and Roblox face dozens of product liability claims nationwide, each alleging the games are intentionally engineered to foster addiction in children and teens, due to design choices that placed increased engagement and profits over mental health.

Parents claim the games rely on invasive algorithms that illegally track children’s gaming activity and use that data to push targeted ads and in-game purchases. The lawsuits point to tactics such as loot boxes with random rewards, long play sessions required to earn rare item “drops,” and pay-to-win upgrades or cosmetic add-ons that allegedly exploit young players.

The complaints coincide with a growing number of Roblox child sexual exploitation lawsuits brought by parents in recent months. Those cases assert that failures in child safety protections allowed predators to groom and exploit children, sometimes leading to blackmail, sexual assault or trafficking.

In June 2024, lawyers pursuing video game addiction lawsuits for families nationwide first sought to have the cases consolidated before a single federal judge, for coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings as part of an MDL, or multidistrict litigation. However, the JPML deemed the litigation was too broad, covering too many companies, video games, tactics and platforms to justify consolidated proceedings.

This September, a second request to establish a video game addiction MDL was filed, focusing on centralization of claims limited to three “gateway” games, including Epic Games’ Fortnite, Roblox Corporation’s Roblox, and Microsoft and Mojang’s Minecraft. At least 39 of these gateway video addiction game lawsuits had been filed in federal courts nationwide.

The renewed request was made by Rochelle Tomlin, who brought a video game addiction lawsuit on behalf of herself and her minor child. She requested that her case and all similar complaints pending throughout the federal court system be consolidated for discovery and pretrial proceedings in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Following oral arguments held earlier this month, the JPML issued an order denying transfer (PDF) on December 10, again rejecting the request for many of the same reasons as before, noting that there are now more of the “gateway” video game addiction lawsuits than there were of the broader litigation the panel considered in June 2024.

“We remain concerned that the scope of this litigation may quickly grow too large, as plaintiffs who played different games on different platforms—in addition to the ‘gateway’ video games at issue in the cases currently pending—file new actions.”

– U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation

The judges noted that several of the lawsuits contain “unspecified Doe defendants,” leaving open the possibility of plaintiffs expanding the litigation to involve more products if consolidation was approved.

The decision means that any video game addiction lawsuits will move forward as individual claims in their respective federal court districts for the time being.

Roblox Sexual Assault Lawsuit Consolidation

Just two days after judges refused the MDL for video game addiction lawsuits, the JPML issued a transfer order approving consolidation of about 30 Roblox child sexploitation lawsuits before U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg in the Northern District of California.

Many of those claims also name platforms like Discord, Snapchat and Instagram as defendants, alleging they were used to continue communications after potential victims were first located on Roblox.

The judges ruled that in this instance, the lawsuits all involve common questions of fact and law, meaning that coordination can assist in the handling of discovery, pretrial motions and other issues.

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