Raymond v. Martin

Filing 65

ORDER CONSOLIDATING CASES, signed by Magistrate Judge Jennifer L. Thurston on 1/21/2020. Lead Case is 1:18-cv-00307, Member Case 1:19-cv-01302 Closed. (Orozco, A)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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A.J.C.,

Case No.: 1:19-cv-01302 DAD JLT
Plaintiff,

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ORDER CONSOLIDATING THE ACTIONS

v.
CITY OF BAKERSFIELD,
Defendant,

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_____________________________________

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JAMES RAYMOND,

Case No.: 1:18-cv-00307 JLT
Plaintiff,

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v.
WARREN MARTIN,
Defendant.
The Court may consolidate actions involving a common question of law or fact, and

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consolidation is proper when it serves the purposes of judicial economy and convenience. Fed.R.Civ.P.

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42(a). The Ninth Circuit explained that the Court “has broad discretion under this rule to consolidate

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cases pending in the same district.” Investors Research Co. v. United States District Court for the

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Central District of California, 877 F.2d 777 (9th Cir. 1989). In determining whether to consolidate

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actions, the Court weighs the interest of judicial convenience against the potential for delay, confusion,

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and prejudice caused by consolidation. Southwest Marine, Inc., v. Triple A. Mach. Shop, Inc., 720 F.
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Supp. 805, 807 (N.D. Cal. 1989).
In these actions, the plaintiffs bring similar claims and they present similar questions of fact and

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law. In the Raymond matter, James Raymond, the father of the decedent Augustus Crawford, claims

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Crawford was unlawfully killed by a Bakersfield Police Officer. (Case No. 1:18-cv-00307, Doc. 1)

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Ingrid Crawford Smith, Crawford’s mother, and A.C., by and through guardian ad litem

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Tyshika Williams, initiated another action by filing a complaint in November 2018. These plaintiffs

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are represented by the same attorney, Mr. George Mgdesyan, as in instant matter. In that action, the

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plaintiffs named the chief of police and the City of Bakersfield in addition to Warren Martin, who was

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named in Raymond’s lawsuit. The Court consolidated Raymond and Smith on March 14, 2019.

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In this latest action, the plaintiff names the City of Bakersfield and the Bakersfield Police

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Department—an entity of the City— and raises the claims as in the other two cases. Consolidation

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would serve the purposes of minimizing judicial resources, and the Court anticipates little risk of delay,

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confusion, or prejudice if the matters are consolidated. Consequently, consolidation is appropriate. See

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Pierce v. County of Orange, 526 F.3d 1190, 1203 (9th Cir. 2008). Based upon the foregoing, the Court

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ORDERS:

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1.

These actions SHALL be consolidated for all purposes, including trial; and

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2.

The parties are instructed that all future filings SHALL use the caption set forth above in

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the Raymond matter and SHALL use case number 1:18-cv-00307 JLT.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:

January 21, 2020

/s/ Jennifer L. Thurston
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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