Opinion
MDL 1446, CA H-01-3624 AND CONSOLIDATED CASES, CIVIL ACTION NO. H-03-5757
January 5, 2004
ORDER OF COORDINATION
American Home Assurance Company v. Sally W. Beck, et al., H-03-5757, was removed from the District Court of Dallas County, Texas, B-44th Judicial District, based on "related to" bankruptcy jurisdiction, and then transferred to this Court by the Multidistrict Litigation Panel as part of MDL 1446 because it is related to the collapse of Enron Corporation and its subsidiary, Enron Natural Gas Marketing Corporation ("ENGMC").
Although Plaintiff American Home Assurance Company alleges that Defendants fraudulently induced Plaintiff to issue a surety bond in favor of American Public Energy Agency for a gas transaction ENGMC, which was supposed to indemnify Plaintiff in the event of default but instead filed for bankruptcy, discovery in H-03-5757 will necessarily overlap that in Newby v. Enron Corporation, H-01-3624, since it involves common questions of fact relating to the collapse of the parent company.
The Court is aware of the pending motion to remand (#18). By agreement of the Court and counsel in MDL 1446, there is currently a stay until at least January 22, 2004 on any rulings on motions to remand by the Court. This Court also defers ruling on Defendants' pending motions to dismiss until it can address and resolve the jurisdictional issue in the motion to remand. In the mean time, to insure that this case receives all relevant pleadings and orders, the Court
ORDERS that the docketing clerk shall henceforth designate H-03-5757 as a "coordinated case" in conjunction with Newby and shall enter it as such on the docket sheet of Newby. Moreover, because the Court has previously reviewed substantial briefing and conducted its own research on "related to" bankruptcy jurisdiction, and because counsel here have submitted briefs, the Court
ORDERS that Plaintiff's motion for a hearing (#20) on the issue is DENIED. Finally, the Court
ORDERS that the following motions are MOOT:
(1) Defendants Sally W. Beck, Mark A. Frevert, Mark E. Haedicke, Kevin P. Hannon, and Lawrence Greg Whalley's motion to transfer (#9), but not their motion to dismiss or for a more definite statement;
(2) Defendants Sally W. Beck, Mark A. Frevert, Mark E. Haedicke, Kevin P. Hannon, and Lawrence Greg Whalley's motion to stay proceedings (#11);
(3) Defendant Wincenty J. Kaminski's motion to transfer venue (#13), but not his motion to dismiss under Rules 12(b)(6) and (9); and
(4) Defendants Sally W. Beck, Mark A. Frevert, Mark E. Haedicke, Kevin P. Hannon, and Lawrence Greg Whalley's motion to transfer tag-along action (#31).