Kelly v. City of Poway

Opinion

KEVIN T. KELLY, Case No.: 18-CV-2615 JLS (AHG) Case No.: 19-CV-1803 JLS (AHG) Plaintiff,

v. ORDER: (1) GRANTING JOINT MOTION TO CONSOLIDATE; AND CITY OF POWAY, a municipal (2) STAYING RELATED CASE corporation, Defendant. (18-CV-2615: ECF No. 38) (19-CV-1803: ECF No. 7)

Presently before the Court is the Parties’ Joint Motions to Consolidate Cases. Plaintiff Kevin T. Kelly has filed two complaints against Defendant City of Poway. Plaintiff filed the first lawsuit, Kevin T. Kelly v. City of Poway, Case No. 3:18-cv-2615 JLS (AHG) on November 5, 2018. Mot. at 2. On September 9, 2019, Plaintiff filed a second action, Kevin T. Kelly v. City of Poway, Case No. 3:19-cv-1803 BAS (BGS). On September 23, 2019, the cases were deemed related and the second action was transferred to this Court. Id. The present Motion followed after Plaintiff filed an amended complaint in the second action. Id. After reviewing the Parties’ contentions and the law, the Court finds consolidation is appropriate and GRANTS the Parties’ Joint Motions. /// Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 42(a)(2) provides that “[i]f actions before the court involve a common question of law or fact, the court may . . . consolidate the actions.” This affords courts “broad discretion” to consolidate cases pending in the same district, either upon motion by a party or sua sponte. In re Adams Apple, Inc., 829 F.2d 1484, 1487 Cir. 1987). “To determine whether to consolidate, a court weighs the interest of judicial convenience against the potential for delay, confusion and prejudice caused by consolidation.” In re Oreck Corp. Halo Vacuum & Air Purifiers Mktg. & Sales Practices Litig., 282 F.R.D. 486, 490 (C.D. Cal. 2012). Here, the Court finds the factors weigh in favor of consolidation. The parties and legal issues in the two actions are identical, thus consolidation will serve the interests of judicial convenience. Further, consolidation will alleviate any concern for inconsistent rulings in the cases. Finally, the Court finds there is no prejudice, as shown by the fact that the Parties filed a Joint Motion to Consolidate. Accordingly, the Court GRANTS the Joint Motions and consolidates Kevin T. Kelly v. City of Poway, Case No. 3:18-CV-2615 JLS (AHG) with Kevin T. Kelly v. City of Poway, Case No. 3:19-CV-1803 JLS (AHG). As stipulated by the Parties, all further pleadings SHALL BE FILED in the original action, No. 3:18-CV-2615 JLS (AHG). The Court STAYS Case No. 3:19-CV-1803 JLS (AHG). The Court will rule on the pending Motion to Dismiss (ECF No. 10) and Motion Amend Complaint (ECF No. 30) filed in the original action in a separate Order. Dated: January 7, 2020 tt jen Janis L. Sammartino 73 United States District Judge