                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

STANDARDS GOVERNING CONSOLIDATION, ETC., AND TRANSFER (§ 8.01-267.1)

On motion of any party, a circuit court may enter an order joining,
coordinating, consolidating or transferring civil actions as provided in this
chapter upon finding that:

1. Separate civil actions brought by six or more plaintiffs involve common
questions of law or fact and arise out of the same transaction, occurrence or
series of transactions or occurrences;

2. The common questions of law or fact predominate and are significant to the
actions; and

3. The order (i) will promote the ends of justice and the just and efficient
conduct and disposition of the actions, and (ii) is consistent with each
party&#8217;s right to due process of law, and (iii) does not prejudice each
individual party&#8217;s right to a fair and impartial resolution of each
action.
			Factors to be considered by the court include, but are not limited to, (i)
the nature of the common questions of law or fact; (ii) the convenience of the
parties, witnesses and counsel; (iii) the relative stages of the actions and the
work of counsel; (iv) the efficient utilization of judicial facilities and
personnel; (v) the calendar of the courts; (vi) the likelihood and disadvantages
of duplicative and inconsistent rulings, orders or judgments; (vii) the
likelihood of prompt settlement of the actions without the entry of the order;
and (viii) as to joint trials by jury, the likelihood of prejudice or confusion.
			The court may organize and manage the combined litigation and enter further
orders consistent with the right of each party to a fair trial as may be
appropriate to avoid unnecessary costs, duplicative litigation or delay and to
assure fair and efficient conduct and resolution of the litigation, including
orders that organize the parties into groups with like interest; appoint counsel
to have lead responsibility for certain matters; allocate costs and attorney
fees to separate issues into common questions that require treatment on a
consolidated basis and individual cases that do not; and stay discovery on the
issues that are not consolidated.

HISTORY: 1995, c. 555; 2023, c. 563.