Judge: Mark H. Epstein, Case: 22SMCV01880, Date: 2024-06-06 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 22SMCV01880    Hearing Date: June 6, 2024    Dept: I

This is a motion to consolidate.  The motion is DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE for a number of reasons.  First, procedurally two cases cannot be consolidated until they are first related.  These cases are not related.  Once they are related (if they are related) then a motion to consolidate would lie.

Second, even were the court to get to the merits, it is not clear that the motion should be granted.  The two cases are being brought by two different tenants against the same landlord.  The tenants, represented by the same law firm, allege similar problems with the property that, the tenants assert, make the property uninhabitable.  What the court cannot tell is whether these are two roommates who are both parties to the same lease or simply two out of a number of tenants in the building.  If the former, then relating and later consolidating the case may make sense.  If the latter, the court is less sanguine as to whether the cases ought to be related, let alone consolidated.  It is worth noting that the leases seem to be nowhere in the record.

In any event, the motion is DENIED, and the current dates remain on calendar, at least for the case before this court and at least for now.