ORDER GRANTING JOINT MOTIONS TO CONSOLIDATE CIVIL ACTIONS 15-cv-130, 131, and 286 AND FOR REVISED (CONSOLIDATED) JCMP (Doc. 10 in 15-cv-130, Doc. 14 in 15-cv-131, and Doc. 8 in 15-cv-286)

JOHN L. KANE, Senior District Judge.

After reviewing the Joint Motions to Consolidate filed in each of related actions (Doc. 10 in 15-cv-130, Doc. 14 in 15-cv-131, and Doc. 8 in 15-cv-286), and in my role as the Judge overseeing this Court's AP Docket, the Motions are GRANTED. These civil actions are CONSOLIDATED for all pre-merits briefing and related motions practice, as well as for an ultimate assignment to a merits judge. In light of this consolidation, it is ORDERED that the Joint Case Management Plan the parties were directed to prepare in 15-cv-131 (Doc. 12) shall be EXPANDED to include ALL of the CONSOLIDATED cases and be entitled "Joint Case Management Plan for Consolidated Cases." The JCMP may be filed separately in each of the consolidated cases, but thought should be given to a coordinated approach to filing so that filings common to all of the consolidated actions need only be filed once. While it may be advisable to amend the caption to designate a "Lead Case" in which all filings will be made, I will leave that to the parties to decide. Counsel for the various Plaintiff entities should also consider the appointment or selection of a single "Liaison" Counsel responsible for coordinating and filing papers common to all of the cases. In any event, the purpose of the coordinated JCMP will be to streamline the proceedings and coordinate filings in the consolidated cases as a whole.

The consolidated/coordinated JCMP remains due on May 15, 2015, although the additional time will be afforded if necessary to allow the parties to maximize the benefits of coordination.