Hendricks & Lewis PLLC v. Clinton

Filing 39

ORDER SEVERING COUNTERCLAIMS AND CONSOLIDATING ACTIONS; Clintons motion to dismiss (Dkt. # 61) is DENIED and Hendricks & Lewis motion to sever and consolidate (Dkt. # 65) is GRANTED. The counterclaims stated in the Second Amended Counterclaims (Dkt. # 56 in C11-1142RSL) are hereby SEVERED. The severed counterclaims and Cause Nos. C12-0841RSL and C12-0884RSL areconsolidated and merged into a single action. Hendricks & Lewis shall, within fourteen days of the date of this Order, file and serve a c onsolidated pleading that includes all requests for relief to be pursued in the consolidated action. The Motion to Appoint a Receiver and the Motion for Sale of Copyrights currently pending in C12-0841RSL and C11-1142RSL, respectively, will be considered by the Court in due course and need not be refiled in the consolidated action. The Order Regarding Initial Disclosures, Joint Status Report and Early Settlement issued in C12-884RSL is vacated by Judge Robert S. Lasnik. (RS)

Download PDF
1 2 3 4 5 6 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE 7 8 GEORGE CLINTON, 9 Plaintiff, 10 Case No. C11-1142RSL ORDER SEVERING COUNTERCLAIMS AND CONSOLIDATING ACTIONS v. 11 HENDRICKS & LEWIS, PLLC, et al., 12 Defendant. 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 This matter comes before the Court on Hendricks & Lewis’ “Status Report” (Dkt. # 57), Clinton’s “Motion to Dismiss Counterclaim Plaintiff’s Second Amended Counterclaims” (Dkt. # 61), and Hendricks & Lewis’ unopposed “Motion to Sever Judgment Collection Counterclaims and Consolidate Actions” (Dkt. # 71). Having reviewed the memoranda, declarations, and exhibits submitted by the parties and the remainder of the record, the Court finds as follows: Hendricks & Lewis has made a number of attempts to execute on the judgments entered by the Honorable John C. Coughenour in Hendricks & Lewis, PLLC v. Clinton, C10-0253JCC (W.D. Wash.). For the reasons stated in this Court’s “Order Denying Plaintiff’s Motion to Dismiss Counterclaims or, in the Alternative, to Transfer” (Dkt. # 38), the collection efforts initiated in California and the amended counterclaims 25 26 ORDER SEVERING COUNTERCLAIMS AND CONSOLIDATING ACTIONS 1 asserted in this litigation are not duplicative and do not run afoul of the prohibition 2 against claim splitting. The Court agrees, however, that restructuring the three actions 3 currently pending in this district will promote the efficient administration of justice. 4 5 For all of the foregoing reasons, Clinton’s motion to dismiss (Dkt. # 61) is 6 DENIED and Hendricks & Lewis’ motion to sever and consolidate (Dkt. # 65) is 7 GRANTED. The counterclaims stated in the Second Amended Counterclaims (Dkt. # 56 8 in C11-1142RSL) are hereby SEVERED in accordance with Fed. R. Civ. P. 21. The 9 severed counterclaims and Cause Nos. C12-0841RSL and C12-0884RSL are 10 consolidated and merged into a single action for all purposes pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 11 42(a)(2). All future filings in the consolidated actions shall bear the following caption: 12 13 HENDRICKS & LEWIS, PLLC, Case No. C12-0841RSL 14 15 16 17 Plaintiff, v. GEORGE CLINTON, Defendant. 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Hendricks & Lewis shall, within fourteen days of the date of this Order, file and serve a consolidated pleading that includes all requests for relief to be pursued in the consolidated action. The “Motion to Appoint a Receiver” and the “Motion for Sale of Copyrights” currently pending in C12-0841RSL and C11-1142RSL, respectively, will be considered by the Court in due course and need not be refiled in the consolidated action. The “Order Regarding Initial Disclosures, Joint Status Report and Early Settlement” 25 26 ORDER SEVERING COUNTERCLAIMS AND CONSOLIDATING ACTIONS -2- 1 issued in C12-884RSL is hereby VACATED. 2 3 Dated this 30th day of August, 2012. 4 5 A 6 Robert S. Lasnik United States District Judge 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 ORDER SEVERING COUNTERCLAIMS AND CONSOLIDATING ACTIONS -3-

Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings provides public litigation records from the federal appellate and district courts. These filings and docket sheets should not be considered findings of fact or liability, nor do they necessarily reflect the view of Justia.


Why Is My Information Online?