(a) Filing, service, and submittal When a petition for coordination is granted or denied, the petitioner must promptly file the order in each included action, serve it on each party appearing in an included action, and submit it to the Chair of the Judicial Council. (Subd (a) amended effective January 1, 2007; previously amended effective January 1, 2005.)
Rule 3.529.Order granting or denying coordination
Division 4. Parties and Actions · Chapter 7. Coordination of Complex Actions · Article 3. Petitions and Proceedings for Coordination of Complex Actions · Last amended 2007 · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceRule 3.529 governs the order granting or denying a petition for coordination — how it must be filed, served, and submitted to the Chair of the Judicial Council, the automatic stay it triggers in each included action, the coordination motion judge’s limited emergency powers before a trial judge is assigned, and when the judge’s authority ends if coordination is denied.
Full Text of Rule 3.529
(b) Stay of further proceedings When an order granting coordination is filed in an included action, all further proceedings in that action are automatically stayed, except as directed by the coordination trial judge or by the coordination motion judge under (c). The stay does not preclude the court in which the included action is pending from accepting and filing papers with proof of submission of a copy to the assigned judge or from exercising jurisdiction over any severable claim that has not been ordered coordinated. (Subd (b) amended effective January 1, 2005.)
(c) Authority of coordination motion judge pending assignment of coordination trial judge After a petition for coordination has been granted and before a coordination trial judge has been assigned, the coordination motion judge may for good cause make any appropriate order as the ends of justice may require but may not commence a trial or enter judgment in any included action. Good cause includes a showing of an urgent need for judicial action to preserve the rights of a party pending assignment of a coordination trial judge. (Subd (c) amended effective January 1, 2005.)
(d) Order denying coordination The authority of a coordination motion judge over an included action terminates when an order denying a petition for coordination is filed in the included action and served on the parties to the action. A stay ordered by the coordination motion judge terminates 10 days after the order denying coordination is filed. (Subd (d) amended effective January 1, 2005.)
Plain-English Summary
Rule 3.529 covers the order that finally grants or denies a petition for coordination, from the moment it is signed through what each side needs to do next. The petitioner must promptly file the order in every included action, serve it on every party who has appeared, and submit a copy to the Chair of the Judicial Council — the order does not take effect on its own; someone has to circulate it.
Granting coordination triggers an automatic stay: every included action stops moving forward the moment the order is filed in that action, unless the coordination trial judge, or, during the gap before a trial judge is assigned, the coordination motion judge, directs otherwise. The stay does not stop a trial court from accepting papers filed with proof that a copy went to the assigned judge, and it does not reach any severable claim in the action that was never ordered coordinated.
Between granting coordination and assigning a coordination trial judge, someone still has to handle anything urgent. Rule 3.529(c) lets the coordination motion judge make any order the ends of justice require for good cause — an urgent need to protect a party’s rights counts — but bars that judge from starting a trial or entering judgment. If the petition is denied instead, the motion judge’s authority over the included action ends once the denial order is filed and served, with any stay lifting ten days after that.
Frequently Asked Questions
What has to happen once an order granting or denying coordination is signed?
The petitioner must promptly file it in each included action, serve every party who has appeared, and submit a copy to the Chair of the Judicial Council.
Does granting coordination automatically pause the individual lawsuits?
Yes. Filing the order in an included action triggers an automatic stay of further proceedings in that action, except as the coordination trial or motion judge directs, and severable claims not ordered coordinated are unaffected.
Can the coordination motion judge do anything before a trial judge is assigned?
Yes. For good cause, including an urgent need to preserve a party’s rights, the motion judge may make any appropriate order the ends of justice require, but may not commence a trial or enter judgment.
What happens to the stay if the petition is denied?
The motion judge’s authority over the included action ends once the denial order is filed and served, and any stay the motion judge ordered ends 10 days after the denial order is filed.
Amendment History
Rule 3.529 amended and renumbered effective January 1, 2007; adopted as rule 1529 effective January 1, 1974; previously amended effective June 19, 1982, and January 1, 2005.
Source & verification. Rule text is reproduced verbatim from
the Judicial Council of California. Adopted by the Judicial Council of California.
Last verified July 29, 2026.
· Official source
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