West et al v. McKesson Corporation et al

Filing 23

ORDER by Judge Hamilton granting 13 Motion to Stay (pjhlc1, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 8/12/2013)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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JOANNE WEST, et al.,

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Plaintiffs,

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For the Northern District of California

United States District Court

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v.

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ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO
STAY AND VACATING HEARING

MCKESSON CORPORATION, et al.,

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No. C 13-3109 PJH

Defendants.
_______________________________/

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Before the court is defendant’s motion to stay the above-entitled action pending the

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determination by the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (“JPML”) regarding the transfer

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of this case to MDL 1871 in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (“the Avandia® MDL”).

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Having read the parties’ papers and carefully considered their arguments and the relevant

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legal authority, the court hereby GRANTS the motion to stay. The court VACATES the

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hearing scheduled for August 21, 2013. In light of this ruling, the court also VACATES the

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hearing on plaintiffs’ motion to remand, also scheduled for August 21, 2013, which the court

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shall reschedule if necessary.

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Plaintiffs filed this action in the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco

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on June 25, 2013. On July 3, 2013, defendant GlaxoSmithKline LLC (“GSK”) removed the

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case to this court under the Class Action Fairness Act. GSK also claims that defendant

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McKesson Corporation was fraudulently joined, giving the court diversity jurisdiction over

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the action. Plaintiffs disagree, and filed a motion to remand on July 12, 2013.

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On July 9, 2013, GSK notified the JPML of a number of tag-along actions, including

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this matter, awaiting transfer to the Avandia® MDL. On July 15, 2013, the JPML issued

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Conditional Transfer Order 173, conditionally transferring the tag-along actions, including

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this mater. Also on July 15, 2013, GSK filed the present motion to stay pending transfer.

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On July 19, 2013, plaintiff filed a notice of opposition to CTO 173.

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The JPML has the authority to transfer “civil actions involving one or more common

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questions of fact [which] are pending in different districts . . . to any district for coordinated

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or consolidated pretrial proceedings.” 28 U.S.C. § 1407(a). When evaluating a motion to

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stay, a primary factor the court should consider is the preservation of judicial resources.

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Rivers v. Walt Disney Co., 980 F.Supp. 1358, 1360-61 (C.D. Cal. 1997). Staying an action

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For the Northern District of California

United States District Court

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pending transfer can help prevent duplicative litigation and inconsistent rulings. Id.
Other courts, including the Northern District of California, have granted motions to

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stay in order to preserve judicial resources, even where motions to remand are also

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pending. See Flores v. McKesson Corp., No. 13-3153 (N.D. Cal. Aug. 2, 2013); Allen v.

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McKesson Corp., No. 13-3110 (N.D. Cal. July 30, 2013); Hargrove v. McKesson Corp., No.

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13-3114 (N.D. Cal. July 30, 2013); Poff v. McKesson Corp., No. 13-3115 (N.D. Cal. July 30,

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2013); Summa v. McKesson Corp., No. 13-3097 (N.D. Cal. July 30, 2013); Aud v.

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McKesson Corp., No. 13-3111 (N.D. Cal. July 29, 2013); Adams v. McKesson Corp., No.

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13-3102 (N.D. Cal. July 25, 2013); Alvarez v. McKesson Corp., No. 13-3112 (N.D. Cal. July

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24, 2013); Dadus v. McKesson Corp., No. 13-3069 (N.D. Cal. July 24, 2013); Allender v.

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McKesson Corp., No. 13-3068 (N.D. Cal. July 22, 2013); Ortiz v. McKesson Corp., No. 13-

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3159 (N.D. Cal. July 17, 2013); Albayrak v. McKesson Corp., No. 13-3095 (N.D. Cal. July

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15, 2013); Esche v. McKesson Corp., No. 13-3062 (N.D. Cal. July 15, 2013).

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There is nothing that precludes the MDL court from considering the jurisdictional

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issues after the transfer. Here, staying the case and the eventual transfer of the case

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would promote judicial economy because the cases raising common issues regarding

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Avandia® would be consolidated for discovery and pretrial proceedings.

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The question of whether McKesson is a proper defendant in the Avandia® cases
should be decided by one court, to avoid any risk of inconsistency in judicial rulings. All of
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the above-cited McKesson cases involve the same jurisdictional issues, and all have been

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stayed pending transfer to the MDL. Thus, the question of whether McKesson is a proper

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defendant in the Avandia® cases is already before the MDL, so the court finds that judicial

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economy would be better served by staying this case pending the transfer, rather than by

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considering the motion to remand.

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Accordingly, for the foregoing reasons, the court finds that defendants’ motion to
stay must be GRANTED. The August 21, 2013 hearing date is VACATED.

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Dated: August 12, 2013
______________________________
PHYLLIS J. HAMILTON
United States District Judge

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For the Northern District of California

United States District Court

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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