Opinion
2:11-cv-00783-RCJ-CWH
10-21-2011
FULTON PARK UNIT OWNERS' ASSOCIATION et al., Plaintiffs, v. PN II, Inc. et al., Defendants.
ORDER
This removed class action arises out of the installation in new homes of allegedly defective high-zinc-content brass ("yellow brass") plumbing fittings. Pending before the Court are three motions to dismiss, a motion to certify class, a motion to stay class certification, and three motions to strike. For the reasons given herein, the Court denies all pending motions without prejudice, consolidates the present three consolidated cases into the Slaughter case, with Slaughter as the lead case, and stays the cases pending the Ninth Circuit's merits ruling in Slaughter The Ninth Circuit is scheduled to hear oral argument in Slaughter on December 7, 2011, and its ruling will dispositively affect all of the consolidated cases.
Ninth Circuit Case No. 10-15439 is the appeal of the merits rulings, and Ninth Circuit Case No. 10-17844 is the appeal of the award of attorneys' fees.
The Court recently granted Plaintiffs' motion to consolidate two similar removed class actions with the present case. First, Case No. 2:11-cv-00812 (Dakota Condominium Association v. Uponor, Inc.), previously pending before Judge Roger L. Hunt, was filed by the same attorneys as the present case, is brought against most of the same Defendants, and alleges the same factual background and theories of relief. Second, Case No. 2:11-cv-00830 (Wolinsky v. Carina Corp.), which was already before this Court, was filed by the same attorneys as the present case, alleges the same factual background and similar theories of relief, but is brought against a different Defendant. The Court has already made substantial rulings in another substantially similar case, Case No. 2:08-cv-01223 (Slaughter v. Uponor, Inc.), which case also has many of the same attorneys as the present case, is based upon the same factual background and theories of relief, is brought against many of the same Defendants, and which is on appeal before the Ninth Circuit.
Essentially, the four cases, and probably others of which the Court is not yet aware, are largely duplicative of one another and should all be consolidated. A summary of the four related cases follows. All of the cases concern the same class allegations and theories of relief arising out of defective yellow brass plumbing fittings in Clark County, Nevada.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ ¦Case ¦Plaintiff Firms ¦Defendants ¦ +-------------+------------------------------------+--------------------------¦ ¦ ¦Harrison, Kemp, Jones & Coulthard ¦Uponor, Inc. ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦Lynch, Hopper & Salzano ¦Uponor North America, Inc.¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦Kemp, Jones & Coulthard ¦RCR Plumbing ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦Maddox & Associates ¦Interstate Plumbing ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦Canepa Riedy & Rubino ¦United Plumbing ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦Slaughter ¦Bailey Kennedy ¦Ferguson Enterprises ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦Wolf, Rifkin, Shapiro, Schulman & ¦Hughes Water & Sewer ¦ ¦ ¦Rabkin ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦Standard Wholesale Supply ¦ ¦ ¦Harrison, Kemp & Jones ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦HD Supply ¦ ¦ ¦Carraway & Associates ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦Uponor Corp. ¦ ¦ ¦Smith Law Office ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦Uponor Group ¦ +-------------+------------------------------------+--------------------------¦ ¦ ¦ ¦PN II, Inc. d/b/a Pulte ¦ ¦ ¦Lynch, Hopper & Salzano ¦Homes ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦Harrison, Kemp & Jones ¦D.R. Horton, Inc. ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦Carraway & Associates ¦Wirsbo Co. ¦ ¦Fulton Park ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦Maddox & Associates ¦Uponor, Inc. ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦Canepa Riedy & Rubino ¦Uponor North America, Inc.¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦Harrison, Kemp, Jones & Coulthard ¦Uponor Corp. ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦Uponor Wirsbo Co. ¦ +-------------+------------------------------------+--------------------------¦ ¦ ¦Lynch, Hopper & Salzano ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦Harrison, Kemp & Jones ¦Uponor, Inc. ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦Carraway & Associates ¦Uponor North America, Inc.¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦Dakota ¦Maddox & Associates ¦Uponor Corp. ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦Canepa Riedy & Rubino ¦Uponor Wirsbo Co. ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦Harrison, Kemp, Jones & Coulthard ¦Wirsbo Co. ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦Kemp, Jones & Coulthard ¦ ¦ +-------------+------------------------------------+--------------------------¦ ¦ ¦Lynch, Hopper & Salzano ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦Harrison, Kemp & Jones ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦Carraway & Associates ¦ ¦ ¦Wolinsky ¦ ¦Carina Corp. ¦ ¦ ¦Kemp, Jones & Coulthard ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦Canepa Riedy & Rubino ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦Maddox & Associates ¦ ¦ +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
CONCLUSION
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that all pending motions are DENIED without prejudice.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Case Nos. 2:11-cv-00783, 2:11-cv-00812, and 2:11-cv-00830 are CONSOLIDATED into Case No. 2:08-cv-01223, with Case No. 2:08-cv-01223 as the lead case. The Clerk shall enter this order into the dockets of all four cases.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that all four consolidated cases are STAYED pending the opinion and mandate in Ninth Circuit Case No. 10-15439.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that counsel shall file a notice in the Slaughter docket whenever another substantially similar case is filed in or removed to a court of this District.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the hearing set for November 8, 2011 is VACATED.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
ROBERT C. JONES
United States District Judge