Free Motion to Consolidate Cases - District Court of Arizona - Arizona

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LAW OFFICES SANDERS & PARKS, P.C. 1300 ABACUS TOWERS 3030 NORTH THIRD STREET PHOENIX, ARIZONA 85012-3099 TELEPHONE (602) 532-5600 FACSIMILE (602) 532-5700

Steven D. Leach (State Bar No. 011584) J. Steven Sparks (State Bar No. 015561) SANDERS & PARKS, P.C. 3030 North Third Street, Suite 1300 Phoenix, Arizona 85012-3099 Telephone: (602) 532-5762 Fax: (602) 230-5041 [email protected] [email protected] Attorneys for Defendant GLENDALE UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 205

UNITED STATED DISTRICT COURT IN AND FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

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JOE RAMIREZ and ANA RAMIREZ, Individually and as Parents and Legal Guardians of JOSE RAMIREZ, Plaintiffs, vs. GLENDALE UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 205; JOHN DOE AND JANE DOE I-X; ABC CORPORATIONS I-X; and XYZ PARTNERSHIPS I-X, Defendants. __________________________________ JOE RAMIREZ and ANA RAMIREZ, Individually and as Parents and Legal Guardians of JOSE RAMIREZ, Plaintiffs, vs.
Case 2:03-cv-00060-ROS Document 88

) CASE NO.: CIV03-0060 PHX-ROS ) ) ) ) MOTION TO CONSOLIDATE ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) NO.: CIV04-2908 PHX-VAM ) ) ) ) ) ) )
Filed 09/29/2005 Page 1 of 5

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GLENDALE UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 205; TANYA SOTO and JOHN DOE SOTO; ANNIE PRESTON and JOHN DOE PRESTON; CLAY KLAVITTER and JANE DOE KLAVITTER; JOHN DOE AND JANE DOE I-X; ABC CORPORATIONS I-X; and XYZ PARTNERSHIPS I-X,

) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) Defendants. ) ___________________________________ ) Defendants, by and through counsel undersigned, hereby move this Court for an

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LAW OFFICES SANDERS & PARKS, P.C. 1300 ABACUS TOWERS 3030 NORTH THIRD STREET PHOENIX, ARIZONA 85012-3099 TELEPHONE (602) 532-5600 FACSIMILE (602) 532-5700

Order consolidating this matter (Ramirez v. Glendale Union High School District, (Case No. CIV03-0060 PHX-ROS)) (hereinafter "Ramirez I"), with the related case of Ramirez v. Glendale Union High School District, Case No. CIV04-2908 PHX-VAM ("Ramirez II") . This Motion is brought pursuant to Rule 42(a) of the Federal Rules of

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Civil Procedure, which authorizes consolidation of matters involving a common question of law or fact. This Motion is supported by the following Memorandum of Points and Authorities and the entire Court record herein. MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND AUTHORITIES In Ramirez I, Plaintiffs contend that Jose Ramirez, a special education student within the Defendant District, was sexually abused on one occasion by other students in his special education class. The District denies that the sexual assault even occurred. The District further denies Plaintiffs' allegations that he was not properly supervised and that the District failed to adequately hire, retain and supervise its staff. A Motion for Summary Judgment is currently pending before the Honorable Roslyn O. Silver in

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Ramirez I. Following the deposition of one of the alleged perpetrators, Plaintiffs moved this Court for an Order to amend their Complaint in Ramirez I to add certain teachers and

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administrators whom allegedly learned of the alleged assault and allegedly failed to report the alleged assault to the authorities. Plaintiffs' Motion to Amend was denied on the grounds that there was insufficient evidence to support the proposed amendment. Following the denial of their Motion to Amend, Plaintiffs filed a separate Complaint

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LAW OFFICES SANDERS & PARKS, P.C. 1300 ABACUS TOWERS 3030 NORTH THIRD STREET PHOENIX, ARIZONA 85012-3099 TELEPHONE (602) 532-5600 FACSIMILE (602) 532-5700

entitled Ramirez v. Soto, (CIV04-2908 PHX-VAM) (Ramirez II). Ramirez I and Ramirez II arise out of the same episode of alleged sexual abuse. Both cases involve the same facts, the same witnesses, and essentially the same legal arguments. Under Rule 42(a), F.R.C.P., consolidation is encouraged when separate

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actions involving a common question of law or fact are pending before the Court. Federal courts have generally taken a favorable view of consolidation where it will result in avoidance of unnecessary duplication of time and effort. Johnson v.

Mississippi Valley Barge Line Co., D.C. Pa. 1963, 34 F.R.D. 140 (a multiplicity of litigation is frowned upon, and should be avoided by consolidation); Air King Products Co. v. Hazeltine Research, D.C. N.Y. 1950, 10 F.R.D. 381 (1950)(piecemeal litigation is not favored since it may add to the burden of litigants and of the courts); Mutual First, Inc. v. O'Charley's of Gulf Port, Inc., 721 F.Supp. 281 (S.D. Ala. 1989)(if there are two actions pending before the Court, both involving common questions of law and fact, and if consolidation will prevent needless repetition, delay, or unnecessary costs, consolidation motions should be granted); U.S. v. Miller, 331 F.2d 414 (C.A. Ariz.
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1964). Here, there is a substantial identity of facts, parties, witnesses and legal theories between Ramirez I and Ramirez II. If the matters are allowed to proceed separately,

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the parties and the Court will incur needless expense and will be forced to spend time on issues that have already been addressed in the existing Ramirez I litigation. Accordingly, consolidation will result in a savings of both time and money by the parties and the Court. Defendants respectfully move this Court for an Order

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LAW OFFICES SANDERS & PARKS, P.C. 1300 ABACUS TOWERS 3030 NORTH THIRD STREET PHOENIX, ARIZONA 85012-3099 TELEPHONE (602) 532-5600 FACSIMILE (602) 532-5700

consolidating Ramirez II with Ramirez I and proceeding forward with only one consolidated action, bearing Case No. CIV03-0060 PHX-ROS.. RESPECTFULLY submitted this 29th day of September, 2005. SANDERS & PARKS, P.C.

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By: s/J. Steven Sparks Steven D. Leach J. Steven Sparks 3030 N. Third Street, Suite 1300 Phoenix, Arizona 85012-3099 Attorneys for Defendants Glendale Union High School District No. 205 I hereby certify that on September 29th, 2005, I electronically transmitted the foregoing document to the Clerk's office using the CM/ECF System for filing and transmittal of a Notice of Electronic Filing to the following EM/ECF Registrants: [email protected] Attorneys for Plaintiffs

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LAW OFFICES SANDERS & PARKS, P.C. 1300 ABACUS TOWERS 3030 NORTH THIRD STREET PHOENIX, ARIZONA 85012-3099 TELEPHONE (602) 532-5600 FACSIMILE (602) 532-5700

To be hand-delivered as a courtesy hard copy on September 30th, 2005, to the Honorable Virginia A. Mathis and the Honorable Roslyn O. Silver. s/ J. Steven Sparks

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