STATE FARM FIRE & CASUALTY COMPANY et al v. AVALON BAY COMMUNITIES, INC.

Filing 21

OPINION AND ORDER granting 12 Motion to Consolidate Cases. State Farm Action and the Allstate Action shall be consolidated under Civ. No. 16-cv-05441-WHW-CLW, and all further filings shall be captioned and docketed therein. Signed by Judge William H. Walls on 3/22/17. (cm, )

NOT FOR PUBLICATION

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY

STATE FARM FIRE & CASUALTY COMPANY
and WESCO INSURANCE COMPANY,
Civ. No. 16-6142 (WHW-CLW)
Plaintiffs,
V.

AVALON BAY COMMUNITIES, INC.,
Defendant.

ALLSTATE NEW JERSEY INSURANCE
COMPANY.,
OPINION AND ORDER
Civ. No. 16-5441 (WHW-CLW)

Plaintiff,
V.

AVALON BAY COMMUNITIES, INC.,
Defendant.

Walls, Senior District Judge

This matter is before the Court on the motion by Plaintiffs State Farm Fire & Casualty
Company and Wesco Insurance Company brought under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 42(a)
to consolidate the matter captioned State Farm Fire & Casualty Company, et at. v. Avalon Bay
Communities, Inc., Civ. No. 2:16-cv-06142-WHW-CLW (the “State Farm Action”), with the
class action captioned, Allstate New Jersey Insurance Company v. Avalon Bay Communities,
Inc. ,Civ. No. 2: 16-cv-05441-WHW-CLW (the “Allstate Action”). ECF No. 12. Defendant in
both actions, AvalonBay Communities, initially consented to consolidation of the matters, ECF
No. 12-1

¶ 10, but it withdrew its consent because it believed State Farm’s motion to consolidate
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NOT FOR PUBLICATION
also sought an indefinite stay of AvalonBay’s motion to dismiss filed in the Allstate Action. ECF
No. 13 at 1—2. The Court decided AvalonBay’s motion to dismiss the Allstate Action on January
17, 2017, ECF No. 21, thereby mitigating AvalonBay’s concern. Though there is a motion for
reconsideration of that decision pending, ECF No. 24, consolidating the Allstate and State Farm
actions will not affect that motion.
In a letter to Magistrate Judge Waldor, Defendant suggested that this Court is bound by a
preliminary injunction recently entered by Judge Linares in the matter of DeMarco v. AvalonBay
Communities, Inc., Civ. No. 15-628, a putative class action lawsuit brought against AvalonBay
Communities by former residents and occupants of the Russell Building of the Avalon at
Edgewater apartment complex whose property was destroyed by the fire. The present parties and
their interests are not within the scope of the Deliarco injunction. Parties different in status are
present: insurance companies allege vested subrogation rights. No members of the Deliarco
settlement class are involved nor will any such members benefit. This action is not brought on
behalf of the Deliarco parties or class members.
Rule 42(a) authorizes this Court to order that cases be consolidated when they “involve a
common question of law or fact.” The Third Circuit has noted that the power to consolidate
matters is “broad” A.S. ex rel. Miller v. SmithKtine Beecham Corp., 769 F.3d 204, 212 (3d Cir.

2014). “The purpose of consolidation is to streamline and economize pretrial proceedings so as
to avoid duplication of effort, and to prevent conflicting outcomes in cases involving similar
legal and factual issues.” In Re TMILitig., 193 F.3d 613, 724 (3d Cir. 1999) (citation omitted).
Both Allstate and State Farm seek subrogation stemming from a fire which occurred at
Defendant’s residential apartment complex on January 21, 2015. ECF No. 12-1 at 4. These
shared legal and factual issues make consolidation appropriate in this case, and it is hereby

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NOT FOR PUBLICATION
ORDERED that: Plaintiff State Farm’s motion to consolidate is granted; and it is
FURTHER ORDERED that that the State Farm Action and the Allstate Action shall be
consolidated under the earlier filed Allstate Action, Civ. No. 16-cv-05441-WHW-CLW, and all
further filings shall be captioned and docketed therein.

DATE:
Senior Uniféd States District Court Judge

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