Marco Munguia, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. aTyr Pharma Inc., and Sanjay S. Shukla; John King, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. aTyr Pharma Inc., and Sanjay S. Shukla

District Court, S.D. California·Decided February 9, 2026·No. 3:25-cv-02826·Unknown

Opinion

MARCO MUNGUIA, Case No.: 3:25-cv-02681-WQH-SBC individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, Plaintiff,

v. aTyr PHARMA Inc., and

Defendants.

__________________________________ Case No.: 3:25-cv-02826-WQH-SBC JOHN KING,

individually and on behalf of all others

similarly situated, Plaintiff,

v.

aTyr PHARMA Inc., and

SANJAY S. SHUKLA, Defendants. ORDER HAYES, Judge: The matter before the Court is the Joint Motion to Consolidate Cases, Appoint Counsel, and Appoint Co-Lead Plaintiffs filed by Andrea Holliday Bloom, Joshua Bloom, Insun Lee, Anthony Fairris, and Karyn Fairris. (ECF No. 18.)

On October 9, 2025, Plaintiff Marco Munguia filed a Complaint against Defendants aTyr Pharma Inc. (“aTyr”) and Sanjay S. Shukla (together, “Defendants”) claiming violations of federal securities laws related to Defendants’ development of a pharmaceutical product named Efzofitimod. (ECF No. 1, Munguia v. aTyr Pharma Inc. et al, Case No. 3:25-cv-02681-WQH-SBC (“this action” or “the Munguia action”).)1 Plaintiff Munguia’s Complaint seeks damages on behalf of all investors who purchased or acquired aTyr common stock during the period between January 16, 2025, and September 12, 2025. Id. at 2. On October 22, 2025, Plaintiff John King filed a similar complaint in the Southern District of California stating claims against Defendants for violations of federal securities laws related to the development of Efzofitimod. (ECF No. 1, King v. aTyr Pharma Inc. et al, Case No. 3:25-cv-02826-WQH-SBC (the “King action”).) Plaintiff King’s Complaint seeks damages on behalf of all investors who purchased or acquired aTyr common stock, call options on aTyr common stock, and/or put options on aTyr common stock during the period between November 7, 2024, and September 12, 2025. Id. at 2. On December 8, 2025, Movant Michael Todd filed a motion in this action seeking consolidation of these two cases, appointment as lead plaintiff, and approval of his legal representatives as lead counsel in the consolidated action. (ECF No. 4.) On December 17, 2025, Movant Michael Todd withdrew that motion. (ECF No. 10.) On December 8, 2025, Movant Wallace Madewell filed a motion seeking consolidation, appointment as lead plaintiff, and approval of lead counsel. (ECF No. 5.) On the same day, Movant Wallace Madewell filed an identical motion in the King action. (ECF No. 5, King v. aTyr Pharma Inc. et al, Case No. 3:25-cv-02826-WQH-SBC.) On December

1 Unless otherwise indicated, all citations to docket entries in this Order refer to filings in the Munguia 29, 2025, Movant Wallace Madewell withdrew those motions. (ECF No. 13; ECF No. 6, King v. aTyr Pharma Inc. et al, Case No. 3:25-cv-02826-WQH-SBC.) On December 8, 2025, Movants Daniel Gron and Stanley Mwaura filed a motion seeking appointment as co-lead plaintiffs and approval of co-lead counsel. (ECF No. 6.) On January 5, 2026, Movants Daniel Gron and Stanely Mwaura filed a Notice of Non- Opposition. (ECF No. 17.) On December 8, 2025, Movant Benjamin Pease filed a motion seeking consolidation, appointment as lead plaintiff, and approval of lead counsel. (ECF No. 7.) On December 29, 2025, Movant Benjamin Pease withdrew that motion. (ECF No. 14.) On December 8, 2025, Movants Andrea Holliday Bloom and Joshua Bloom (together, “Bloom Family”) filed a motion seeking consolidation, appointment as lead plaintiff, and approval of lead counsel. (ECF No. 8.) On December 8, 2025, Movants Insun Lee (“Lee”), Anthony Fairris, and Karyn Fairris (together, “Fairris Family”) filed a motion seeking consolidation, appointment as co-lead plaintiffs, and approval of lead counsel. (ECF No. 9.) On December 29, 2025, Movants Insun Lee and Fairris Family filed a Notice of Non-Opposition indicating their assent to the appointment of Bloom Family as lead plaintiff. (ECF No. 15.) On January 5, 2026, Movants Bloom Family, Fairris Family, and Lee (together, “Moving Plaintiffs”) filed a joint motion (the “Joint Motion”) seeking consolidation, appointment as co-lead plaintiffs, and approval of their respective legal representatives— Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP (“Hagens Berman”) and Pomerantz LLP (“Pomerantz”)—as co-lead counsel in this action. (ECF No. 18.) A. Consolidation Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 42 states that, “[i]f actions before the court involve a common question of law or fact, the court may . . . consolidate the actions.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 42(a)(2). The United States Supreme Court has written that federal district courts “enjoy substantial discretion in deciding whether and to what extent to consolidate cases.” Hall v. Hall, 584 U.S. 59, 77 (2018). The Ninth Circuit has endorsed the same principle. In re Adams Apple, 829 F.2d 1484, 1487 (9th Cir. 1987) (“[C]onsolidation is within the broad discretion of the district court.”); Pierce v. Cnty. of Orange, 526 F.3d 1190, 1203 (9th Cir. 2008); Invs. Rsch. Co. v. U.S. Dist. Ct. for Cent. Dist. of California, 877 F.2d 777, 777 (9th Cir. 1989). Consolidation is a tool used to promote the efficiency of judicial proceedings. “[C]onsolidation is permitted as a matter of convenience and economy in administration, but does not merge the suits into a single cause, or change the rights of the parties, or make those who are parties in one suit parties in another.” Johnson v. Manhattan Ry. Co., 289 U.S. 479, 496 (1933). In exercising its discretion to order consolidation of multiple actions presenting common issues of law or fact under Rule 42(a), a district court “weighs the saving of time and effort consolidation would produce against any inconvenience, delay, or expense that it would cause.” Huene v. U.S., 743 F.2d 703, 704 (9th Cir. 1984); see also Zhu v. UCBH Holdings, Inc., 682 F. Supp. 2d 1049, 1052 (N.D. Cal. 2010) (A “[c]ourt should weigh the interest of judicial convenience against the potential for delay, confusion and prejudice.”). Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (“PSLRA”), 15 U.S.C. §78u-4, et seq., a district court must adjudicate any motions to consolidate before appointing a lead plaintiff in a securities class action brought under the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”). Id. at § 78u-4(a)(3)(B)(ii) (“If more than one action on behalf of a class asserting substantially the same claim or claims arising under this chapter has been filed, and any party has sought to consolidate those actions for pretrial purposes or for trial, the court shall not make the determination required by clause (i) until after the decision on the motion to consolidate is rendered. As soon as practicable after such decision is rendered, the court shall appoint the most adequate plaintiff as lead plaintiff for the consolidated actions in accordance with this paragraph.”); see also Richardson v. TVIA, Inc., No. C 06 06304 RMW, 2007 WL 1129344, at *2 (N.D. Cal. Apr. 16, 2007). B. Appointment of Lead Plaintiff and Lead Counsel The PSLRA requires that a district court “appoint as lead plaintiff the member or members of the purported plaintiff class that the court determines to be most capable of adequately representing the interests of class members.” 15 U.S.C. §

Marco Munguia, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. aTyr Pharma Inc., and Sanjay S. Shukla; John King, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. aTyr Pharma Inc., and Sanjay S. Shukla, (S.D. Cal. 2026).

Marco Munguia, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. aTyr Pharma Inc., and Sanjay S. Shukla; John King, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. aTyr Pharma Inc., and Sanjay S. Shukla (Marco Munguia, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. aTyr Pharma Inc., and Sanjay S. Shukla; John King, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. aTyr Pharma Inc., and Sanjay S. Shukla) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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