Opinion
CV-24-03517-PHX-KML
12-16-2024
Eric Gerow, Plaintiff, v. Tom Blackwell, et al., Defendants.
ORDER
Honorable Krissa M. Lanham United States District Judge
The Middle District of Florida transferred this case to the District of Arizona under 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a). (Doc. 20.) The transfer order noted plaintiff Eric Gerow already has a pending case in this district, CV-23-1059-PHX-DGC. A review of the complaints in the two cases reveals they assert some of the same claims against the same defendants. (Compare Doc. 136 at 99-108 in CV-23-1059-PHX-DGC with Doc. 21 at 24-33 in CV-24-3517-PHX-KML.) Gerow likely cannot pursue both suits because a plaintiff “generally has no right to maintain two separate actions involving the same subject matter at the same time in the same court and against the same defendant.” Mendoza v. Amalgamated Transit Union Int'l, 30 F.4th 879, 886 (9th Cir. 2022).
Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED no later than December 27, 2024, plaintiff Eric Gerow shall file a statement explaining whether this case should be dismissed because he is pursuing the same claims in a different pending case.