Science Day

Science day is an informal presentation held before an MDL transferee judge in which both sides' scientific and medical experts present the core causation evidence before any Daubert motions are filed, allowing the judge to develop foundational familiarity with the science at issue. These sessions are not evidentiary hearings, but they are highly consequential: a judge who comes away skeptical of plaintiffs' causation theory may apply heightened scrutiny to Daubert motions and significantly narrow the plaintiff cohort. Litigation funders often treat the post-science-day period as a pricing inflection point — unfavorable judicial signals following science day can depress settlement values and trigger portfolio revaluation. Conversely, a strong plaintiff presentation at science day can accelerate defendant settlement posture by signaling that Daubert challenges will not eliminate the docket.

Funders treat the period immediately following science day as a pricing inflection point, because the transferee judge's reaction to the causation science — even though the session is non-evidentiary — signals how the court is likely to rule on Daubert challenges that follow. A visibly skeptical judicial reaction to plaintiffs' causation theory at science day is often the earliest concrete signal a funder gets that the docket's settlement value may be lower than initially modeled.