Hills v. Arensdorf

Filing 5

ORDER CONSOLIDATING CASE: Case No. 20-4074 shall be consolidated for pretrial and discovery purposes with Case No. 20-4037. The Clerk is directed to reassign Case No. 20-4074 to Eric F. Melgren, U.S. District Judge, and James P. O'Hara, U.S. Magistrate Judge. Case No. 20-4037 shall be designated as the lead case. All future pleadings, except for those related to dispositive motions, shall bear the consolidated caption on this order and shall be filed in only the lead case. Any dispositive motions and other filings related to the same shall be filed in the specific case without a consolidated caption. Signed by Magistrate Judge James P. O'Hara on 11/18/2020. (smc)

Case 5:20-cv-04074-EFM-JPO Document 5 Filed 11/18/20 Page 1 of 3

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF KANSAS
CONSOLIDATED CASES
WENDY HILLS,
Plaintiff,
v.

Case No. 20-4037-EFM

GERARD ARENSDORF,
Defendant.
____________________________________________________________________
BRENT HILLS,
Plaintiff,
v.

Case No. 20-4074-EFM

GERARD ARENSDORF,
Defendant.

ORDER OF CONSOLIDATION
On November 17, 2020, counsel in the above-captioned cases informally notified
the court that the cases were candidates for consolidation. The court agrees the cases are
factually and legally related and, therefore, should be consolidated for discovery and
pretrial purposes.
1

Case 5:20-cv-04074-EFM-JPO Document 5 Filed 11/18/20 Page 2 of 3

Under Fed. R. Civ. P. 42(a), a court may consolidate or join for trial or hearing “any
or all the matters at issue in the actions” if the actions involve a “common question of law
or fact.” The decision whether to consolidate such actions is left to the sound discretion of
the trial court.1 In exercising its discretion, the court should take into consideration whether
judicial efficiency is best served by consolidation.2
Case Nos. 20-4037 and 20-4074 clearly involve common questions of law and fact.
The defendant is the same in both cases and is represented by the same counsel in both. In
both cases, the named plaintiffs, who are sister and brother, assert claims related to the
alleged professional negligence of the defendant based on the estate planning services he
provided their father. Counsel report they have worked together in anticipation of these
two actions being consolidated and jointly participated in a Rule 26(f) planning conference
on Friday, November 13, 2020. Judicial efficiency would be best served by consolidation
of these cases for all discovery and pretrial purposes.
In consideration of the foregoing,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED: Case No. 20-4074 shall be consolidated for pretrial
and discovery purposes with Case No. 20-4037. The Clerk is directed to reassign Case No.
20-4074 to Eric F. Melgren, U.S. District Judge, and James P. O’Hara, U.S. Magistrate
Judge. Case No. 20-4037 shall be designated as the lead case. All future pleadings, except

1

Ryan Transp. Servs., Inc. v. Fleet Logistics, L.L.C., No. Civ. A. 04-2445-CM,
2005 WL 2293598, at *3 (D. Kan. Sept. 19, 2005) (citing Shump v. Balka, 574 F.2d 1341,
1344 (10th Cir. 1978)).
2

C.T. v. Liberal Sch. Dist., 562 F. Supp. 2d 1324, 1346 (D. Kan. 2008).
2

Case 5:20-cv-04074-EFM-JPO Document 5 Filed 11/18/20 Page 3 of 3

for those related to dispositive motions, shall bear the consolidated caption on this order
and shall be filed in only the lead case. Any dispositive motions and other filings related
to the same shall be filed in the specific case without a consolidated caption.
Dated November 18, 2020, at Kansas City, Kansas.

s/ James P. O=Hara
James P. O=Hara
U.S. Magistrate Judge

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