Plagakis v. Outsource Utility Contractor Corp. ( 2023 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 NICHOLAS PLAGAKIS, Case No. 1:23-cv-00798-CDB 12 Plaintiff, ORDER ON STIPULATION CONSOLIDATING 13 v. CASES PURSUANT TO RULE 42(a) 14 OUTSOURCE UTILITY CONTRACTOR CORP., 15 Defendant. 16 17 NICHOLAS PLAGAKIS, Case No. 1:23-cv-01119-CDB 18 Plaintiff, ORDER ON STIPULATION CONSOLIDATING 19 v. CASES PURSUANT TO RULE 42(a) 20 OUTSOURCE UTILITY CONTRACTOR CORP., 21 Defendant. 22 23 24 25 On April 11, 2023, Plaintiff Nicholas Plagakis (“Plaintiff”) filed a putative class action against 26 Defendant Outsource Utility Contractor Corp. (“Defendant”) in the Superior Court of the State of 27 California, County of Kern. Plagakis, No. 1:23-cv-00798-CDB at Doc. 1. Defendant removed 28 Plaintiff’s putative class action to this Court on May 24, 2023. Id. On June 15, 2023, Plaintiff filed an 1 action pursuant to California’s Private Attorney General Action (PAGA) in the Superior Court of the 2 State of California, County of Kern. Plagakis, No. 1:23-cv-01119-CDB at Doc. 1. Defendant 3 removed Plaintiff’s PAGA action to this Court on July 26, 2023. Id. 4 Pending before the Court is the parties’ stipulation to consolidate these two cases. Plagakis, 5 No. 1:23-cv-00798-CDB at Doc. 21. The parties represent both cases arise out of the same 6 employment relationship between Plaintiff, the putative class and/or allegedly similarly aggrieved 7 employees, and Defendant. Id. at 2. Further, the parties stipulate these cases present common 8 questions of fact and law, and consolidation is appropriate pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 9 42(a). Id. 10 When multiple actions pending before a court involve common questions of law or fact, the 11 court may order a joint hearing or trial of any or all matters at issue in the actions; consolidate the 12 actions; and/or issue any other orders to avoid unnecessary cost or delay. Fed. R. Civ. P. 42(a). The 13 court has “broad discretion” to determine whether and to what extent consolidation is appropriate. See 14 Garity v. APWU Nat'l Labor Org., 828 F.3d 848, 855-56 (9th Cir. 2016) (citing Inv’rs Research Co. v. 15 U.S. Dist. Ct. for the Cent. Dist. of Cal., 877 F.2d 777, 777 (9th Cir. 1989)). “Typically, consolidation 16 is a favored procedure.” Blount v. Boston Scientific Corporation, No. 1:19-cv-00578-AWI-SAB, 17 2019 WL 3943872, *2 (E.D. Cal. Aug. 21, 2019) (citing In re Oreck Corp. Halo Vacuum & Air 18 Purifiers Mktg. & Sales Practices Litig., 282 F.R.D. 486, 491 (C.D. Cal. 2012)). In deciding whether 19 to consolidate actions, the court “weighs the saving of time and effort consolidation would produce 20 against any inconvenience, delay, or expense that it would cause.” Huene v. United States, 743 F.2d 21 703, 704 (9th Cir. 1984); Single Chip Sys. Corp. v. Intermec IP Corp., 495 F.Supp.2d 1052, 1057 22 (S.D. Cal. 2007). 23 Here, the Court finds there are significant and substantial common issues of fact and law that 24 warrant consolidation under Rule 42(a). Moreover, the Court agrees with the parties the benefit of 25 consolidation would reduce the burden on judicial resources, the parties, and the witnesses, eliminate 26 the risk of inconsistent adjudications, avoid prejudice, and allow for the orderly and expeditious 27 resolution of both cases to consolidate the actions into one proceeding. 28 / / / 1 Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED: 2 1. The actions denominated as Plagakis, No. 1:23-cv-00798-CDB, and Plagakis, No. 3 1:23-cv-01119-CDB are CONSOLIDATED under Rule 42(a) for all purposes; 4 2. All future filings in the consolidated action shall be submitted under lead case No. 5 1:23-cv-00798; 6 3. The scheduling conference in Plagakis, No. 1:23-cv-01119-CDB, currently set for 7 October 2023, is VACATED; and 8 4. Defendant’s fully briefed motions to dismiss in the lead case (Doc. 4) and member cas 9 (Doc. 6) are SUBMITTED. 10 |! TT IS SO ORDERED. |] pated: __September 8, 2023 | hr Pr 12 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28