In 1991, the Federal Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation moved to consolidate 30,000 suits for personal injury from asbestos; there was a general recognition that drastic reorganization was needed in order to allocate the shrinking assets of the defendants among the neediest victims. The judge consolidating the pretrial proceedings will consider a number of approaches including deferring of cases involving plaintiffs who are not seriously ill, setting limitations on contingency fees for counsel, severing punitive damage claims until all compensatory damage claims have been settled, eliminating frivolous claims, and pursuing global settlements through the use of alternate dispute resolution techniques. Also in 1991, a U.S. Supreme Court decision curtailed the authority of the OSH Review Commission and simultaneously strengthened the Department of Labor's enforcement powers. The positive and negative outcomes of recent court cases have both encouraged criminal prosecutors to proceed with asbestos-related cases and demonstrated again the difficulty of proving criminal intent and conduct beyond a reasonable doubt. 6 notes