Opinion
CV-21-00574-PHX-SPL CV-21-01554-PHX-SMB
10-08-2021
Caremark LLC, et al., Plaintiffs, v. Chickasaw Nation, et al., Defendants.
ORDER
Honorable Steven P. Logan United States District Judge
Pending before the Court is Petitioners' Motion to Transfer Pursuant to Local Rule of Civil Procedure (“Local Rule”) 42.1(e). (Doc. 40). In the Motion, Plaintiffs seek to transfer No. CV-21-01554-PHX-SMB (the “Related Case”), in which they are also the plaintiffs, to this Court. Plaintiffs argue that the Related Case involves similar parties, facts, and legal issues to those previously adjudicated in this case. The defendants in the Related Case do not oppose the Motion. (Doc. 41).
Local Rule 42.1(e) provides that “a Judge may transfer a case to another Judge with that Judge's consent and with notice to the Chief Judge” under specified circumstances, including if the transferee judge previously adjudicated a substantially similar case, to avoid substantial duplication of labor, and for other reasons of judicial economy.
Because this Motion was made under Local Rule 42.1(e) rather than Local Rule 42.1(a) and (b), the instant Motion should have been assigned to Judge Brnovich in the case that is still pending rather than to this Court in the case that is closed. Nonetheless, this Court will decide the Motion.
This Court declines to grant voluntary reassignment under Local Rule 42.1(e). Civil cases are assigned to District Judges “by automated random selection and in a manner so that neither the Clerk nor any parties or their attorneys will be able to make a deliberate choice of a particular Judge.” LRCiv 3.7(a). This procedure is intended to provide impartial justice and the appearance thereof, which would be undermined by reassignment of the Related Case.
Moreover, this was not a particularly complex case involving extraordinary time, labor, or resources. In fact, the case was closed just three months after it was filed. Judge Brnovich may review this Court's rulings in the case if she finds it helpful and appropriate to do so. That decision, however, rests squarely in her discretion in deciding the Related Case. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that Petitioners' Motion to Transfer Pursuant to Local Rule of Civil Procedure 42.1(e) (Doc. 40) is denied.