Opinion
Case No. 13-CV-1037
02-01-2013
REYNALDO B. SLEZAK, Plaintiff, v. STEVE LOVELESS and MICHELLE LOVELESS, Defendants.
ORDER
On January 24, 2013, Plaintiff Reynaldo B. Slezak filed this case alleging, among other things, that Defendants Steve Loveless and Michelle Loveless violated the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA") by failing to properly pay him for overtime he had performed for Independent Courier Services, Inc. (See ECF No. 1). The Complaint alleges that Steve and Michelle Loveless are officers of Independent Courier Services, Inc. Id.
On February 1, 2013, the Parties filed an Agreed Motion to Consolidate Cases for Discovery and Trial. (ECF No. 6). The Parties explain that Plaintiff filed a case on November 26, 2012, in which he alleged violations of the FLSA, against Independent Courier Services, Inc. Id; see also Slezak v. Independent Courier Services, Inc., CDIL Case No. 12-CV-1477. The Parties further provide that the case against Steve Loveless and Michelle Loveless alleges essentially the identical violations of the FLSA by Independent Courier Services, Inc.
Under Local Rule 42.1,
When a party or counsel for a party knows that a newly filed case is related to another case already pending in the district, the parties are responsible for bringing the matter to the court's attention at the first opportunity but not laterCDIL-LR 42.1. The Court finds that the above-mentioned cases are related and this case should be transferred Senior District Court Judge Joe Billy McDade because he is handling the earlier filed case. The Clerk of the Court is directed to make the intra-division transfer.
than the Rule 16 discovery conference or the first motion hearing, whichever occurs earliest. Consolidation of the cases will be considered at that time.
Later-filed cases may be transferred to the judge assigned to the first-filed suit, regardless of whether the cases are consolidated.
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Michael M. Mihm
U.S. District Court Judge