Opinion
Civil Action 4:20-CV-21-SA-JMV
11-13-2024
ANDREW ALEXANDER, et al. PLAINTIFFS v. PELICIA E. HALL, et al. DEFENDANTS
ORDER
SHARION AYCOCK, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE.
On October 23, 2024, the Defendants filed a Motion to Sever [216]. They argue that “[t]he logical conclusion stemming from this Court's Order denying class certification is that Plaintiffs' claims should be severed into 14 separate actions, including for purposes of completing remaining discovery and for filing dispositive motions.” [217] at p. 5. The Plaintiffs have not responded to the Motion [216] and have advised the Court via email that they do not oppose the Defendants' request.
The Court finds it appropriate for the claims of each Plaintiff to be litigated in a separate action. To accomplish this objective, the Court will dismiss this lawsuit without prejudice so that the Plaintiffs may initiate separate actions. However, the Court will hold its dismissal in abeyance for a period of twenty-one (21) days-or until December 4, 2024-to provide the Plaintiffs an opportunity to initiate those separate actions. The Court will enter a separate Order dismissing this case on December 5, 2024.
In initiating separate lawsuits, the Plaintiffs should tailor their respective Complaints to the facts pertaining to each respective Plaintiff. In so doing, the Plaintiffs will not be permitted to add any new claims; rather, they should assert only the claims that were previously asserted prior to the expiration of their deadline to amend in this case. Once the new lawsuits are filed, the Magistrate Judge assigned to each respective case will conduct a case management conference to address the parameters of any remaining discovery and set all other deadlines associated with the case.
SO ORDERED.