Opinion
Civil Action No. 15-00509-N
11-09-2015
PHILLIP STRINGER, Plaintiff, v. VOLKSWAGEN GROUP OF AMERICA, INC, et al, Defendants.
ORDER
This action is before the undersigned United States Magistrate Judge on Defendants' Motion to Stay Pending a Ruling by the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) (Doc. 9). The Motion is unopposed. Doc. 9 at 1. After consideration of the pleadings, and for the reasons explained herein, the Motion to Stay is GRANTED.
The JPML has designated cases of this type for inclusion in MDL No. 2672 In Re: Volkswagen 'Clean Diesel' Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation. Doc. 9 at 1. On December 3, 2015, in New Orleans, Louisiana, the JPML will hear the motions to certify this and other cases for MDL handling and select the jurisdiction where the MDL cases will be transferred. Id.
"[A] majority of courts have concluded that it is often appropriate to stay preliminary pretrial proceedings while a motion to transfer and consolidate is pending with the MDL Panel because of the judicial resources conserved." Rivers v. Walt Disney Co., 980 F. Supp. 1358, 1362 (C.D. Cal. 1997); see also Maiben v. CSX Transp., Inc., No. 09-0125-WS-B, 2009 WL 1211186, at *1 (S.D. Ala. May 1, 2009) (staying litigation pending transfer to MDL). Accordingly, the Defendants' Motion to Stay is GRANTED. This action is hereby STAYED until the Court is notified of the JPML's decision concerning transfer. In the interim, parties are ORDERED to file a joint STATUS REPORT by the 10 day of each month updating this Court on the disposition of this case by the JPML.
DONE and ORDERED this the 9 day of November 2015.
/s/ Katherine P . Nelson
KATHERINE P. NELSON
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE