Multiparty Multiforum Trial Jurisdiction Act
The 2002 Multiparty Multiforum Trial Jurisdiction Act was passed to address the issues that can arise when multiple lawsuits are filed following a catastrophe with mass casualties.
The law states that any time there are 75 or more people killed in a single accident and there is minimal diversity (meaning at least one plaintiff is a resident of a state different from at least one of the defendants) then the federal courts have jurisdiction over the case.
While this statute can apply to any catastrophic incident, it was drafted specifically for aviation-related disasters.