Stringer v. Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. et al

Filing 10

ORDER granting 9 Motion to Stay pending ruling by Judicial Panel on MDL; parties are to file a joint status report by the 10th day of each month updating Court on disposition of their case by JPML. Signed by Magistrate Judge Katherine P. Nelson on 11/9/2015. (srr)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ALABAMA
SOUTHERN DIVISION
PHILLIP STRINGER,
Plaintiff,
v.
VOLKSWAGEN GROUP OF
AMERICA, INC, et al,
Defendants.

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Civil Action No. 15-00509-N

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 10th day of each month updating this Court on
the disposition of this case by the JPML.
DONE and ORDERED this the 9th day of November 2015.
/s/ Katherine P. Nelson
KATHERINE P. NELSON
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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