Russell v. Werner Enterprises, Inc.

Filing 204

ORDER granting (202) Motion to Consolidate Cases in case 8:14-cv-00319-JFB-MDN; granting (109) Motion to Consolidate Cases in case 8:15-cv-00287-JFB-MDN; granting (74) Motion to Consolidate Cases in case 8:17-cv-00145-JFB-MDN. Case No. 8:14cv319 con tinues to be designated as the Lead Case. The Court's CM/ECF System has the capacity for "spreading" text among the consolidated cases. Parties are instructed to file documents related to discovery in the Lead Case and select the option "yes" in response to the System's question whether to spread text. Member Cases: 8:14-cv-00319-JFB-MDN, 8:15-cv-00287-JFB-MDN, 8:17-cv-00145-JFB-MDN.Ordered by Magistrate Judge Michael D. Nelson. (CCB)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEBRASKA
EZEQUIEL OLIVARES ABARCA,
ALFREDO ALESNA JR., DAVID CAGLE,
STEPHEN L. DAVIS, FRANK EADS, and
KENNETH J. SURMAN, individually and on
behalf of all those similarly situated,

8:14CV319
ORDER

Plaintiffs,
vs.
WERNER ENTERPRISES, INC., DRIVERS
MANAGEMENT, LLC, and DOES 1-100,
inclusive,
Defendants.

WILLIAM SMITH, on behalf of himself and
all others similarly situated, and on behalf of
the general public,
Plaintiff,

8:15CV287
ORDER

vs.
WERNER ENTERPRISES, INC., d/b/a
C.L. WERNER, INC., a corporation, and
DOES 1-100, inclusive,
Defendants.
BRIAN VESTER and JOEL MORALES,
individually and on behalf of all others
similarly situated,
Plaintiffs,
vs.

8:17CV145
ORDER

WERNER ENTERPRISES, INC., and
DRIVERS MANAGEMENT, LLC;
Defendants.
This matter is before the Court on the Motion to Consolidate Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P.
42(a) filed by Defendants, Werner Enterprises, Inc. and Drivers Management, LLC. Werner

moves to consolidate Vester et al v. Werner Enterprises, Inc., et al, Case No. 8:17CV145 (D. Neb.
2017) with Abarca et al., v. Werner Enterprises, et al., Case No. 8:14CV319 (D. Neb. 2014) and
Smith v. Werner Enterprises, et al., Case No. 8:15CV287 (D. Neb. 2015), the latter two of which
were previously consolidated for all purposes.
The Vester plaintiffs filed a Statement of Non-Opposition to Defendants’ motion (Filing
No. 75 in Case No. 8:17CV145) stating they do not oppose consolidation, with certain reservations
regarding their right to conduct discovery and present arguments specific to their claims.
Defendants filed a Reply (Filing No. 76 in Case No. 8:17CV145) asserting that the Court should
not make its order on consolidation conditional on any discovery and that the Vester plaintiffs’
response to the motion to consolidate is an inappropriate vehicle to raise such concerns.
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 42(a) permits consolidation of cases involving common
issues of law or fact as a matter of convenience and economy in judicial administration. Fed. R.
Civ. P. 42(a). After review of the filings in the above cases, the Court concludes the Vester action
contains common issues of law and fact as the Abarca and Smith cases. The putative class action
claims by the Vester plaintiffs against Defendants for violations of California wage and labor laws
are largely the same as those alleged in the Abarca and Smith cases. Additionally, the Court has
certified a California class in the Abarca and Smith cases that appears to encompass the Vester
plaintiffs’ claims. Consolidation will conserve time and resources of the parties and of the Court.
Accordingly, the Court will grant the Defendants’ motion and consolidate all of the abovecaptioned cases for purposes of discovery and trial. The Court notes the Vester plaintiffs’ concerns
regarding their reservation of the right to conduct discovery and to present arguments specific to
their claims. The parties may address these concerns during the telephone conference currently
scheduled for August 1, 2018, in the Abarca and Smith cases. Upon consideration,

IT IS ORDERED:
1. Defendants’ Motion to Consolidate Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 42(a) (Filing No. 202 in
Case No. 8:14CV319; Filing No. 109 in Case. No. 8:15CV287; Filing No. 74 in Case No.
8:17CV145) is granted.
2. All of the above-captioned cases are now consolidated for all purposes.
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3. Case No. 8:14CV319 continues to be designated as the “Lead Case” and Case. Nos.
8:15CV287 and Case No. 8:17CV145 are designated as “Member Cases.”
4. The court’s CM/ECF System has the capacity for “spreading” text among the
consolidated cases. If properly docketed, the documents filed in the Lead Case will automatically
be filed in the Member Case. The parties are instructed to file documents related to discovery
(except those described in paragraph 5) in the Lead Case and to select the option “yes” in response
to the System’s question whether to spread the text.
5. The parties may not use the spread text feature to file complaints, amended complaints,
and answers; to pay filing fees electronically using pay.gov; or to file items related to service of
process.
6. If a party believes an item in addition to those described in paragraph 4 should not be
filed in all the consolidated cases, the party must move for permission to file the item in one or
more member cases. The motion must be filed in all the consolidated cases using the spread text
feature.
7. The Court will address the Vester plaintiffs’ discovery concerns and other scheduling
matters during the telephone conference currently scheduled for August 1, 2018, at 10:30 a.m. in
the Abarca and Smith cases.
Dated this 13th day of July, 2018.
BY THE COURT:
s/ Michael D. Nelson
United States Magistrate Judge

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