Opinion
21-2120-EFM 21-2121-EFM 21-2145-EFM
08-02-2021
STEPHANIE WILBUR, Plaintiff, v. MISSION CHATEAU, L.L.C., et al., Defendants. MONICA PORTER, Plaintiff, v. MISSION CHATEAU, L.L.C., et al., Defendants. RONALD BAKER, Plaintiff, v. MISSION CHATEAU, L.L.C., et al., Defendants.
CONSOLIDATED CASES
ORDER OF CONSOLIDATION
James P. O'Hara U.S. Magistrate Judge
On August 2, 2021, the undersigned U.S. Magistrate Judge, James P. O'Hara, conducted a scheduling conference in the above-captioned cases. The parties agreed at the conference that the three cases are factually and legally related and, therefore, should be consolidated for discovery and pretrial purposes.
Under Fed.R.Civ.P. 42(a), a court may consolidate or join for trial or hearing “any or all the matters at issue in the actions” if the actions involve a “common question of law or fact.” The decision whether to consolidate such actions is left to the sound discretion of the trial court. In exercising its discretion, the court should take into consideration whether judicial efficiency is best served by consolidation.
Ryan Transp. Servs., Inc. v. Fleet Logistics, L.L.C., No. Civ. A. 04-2445-CM, 2005 WL 2293598, at *3 (D. Kan. Sept. 19, 2005) (citing Shump v. Balka, 574 F.2d 1341, 1344 (10th Cir. 1978)).
C.T. v. Liberal Sch. Dist., 562 F.Supp.2d 1324, 1346 (D. Kan. 2008).
The above-captioned cases clearly involve common questions of law and fact. Each alleges defendants engaged in racial discrimination in employment. The four defendants are the same in all cases. Counsel for each side is the same in all cases. Judicial efficiency would be best served by consolidation of these cases for all discovery and pretrial purposes.
In consideration of the foregoing, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED: the above-captioned cases shall be consolidated for discovery and pretrial purposes, all having been previously dual-assigned to U.S. District Judge Eric F. Melgren and the undersigned U.S. Magistrate Judge. No. 21-2120-EFM shall be designated as the lead case. All future pleadings, except for those related to dispositive motions, shall bear the consolidated caption on this order and shall be filed in only the lead case. Any dispositive motions and other filings related to the same shall be filed in the specific case without a consolidated caption.