(a) Assignment of coordination trial judge If it appears that included actions in a petition for coordination share a common question of law or fact with cases already ordered coordinated, the Chair of the Judicial Council may assign the petition to the coordination trial judge for the existing coordinated cases to decide the petition as a request to coordinate an add-on case under rule 3.544. (Subd (a) amended effective January 1, 2007.)
Rule 3.532.Petition for coordination when cases already ordered coordinated
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 3.532 lets the Chair of the Judicial Council route a new coordination petition to the trial judge already handling a related coordinated proceeding, to be decided as an add-on case request, and sends the petition back through the ordinary motion-judge process if the trial judge turns it down.
Full Text of Rule 3.532
(b) Order The coordination trial judge’s order must specify that the request to coordinate an add-on case is either granted or denied.
(c) Filing and service The petitioner must promptly file the order in each included action, serve it on each party appearing in an included action, and submit a copy to the Chair of the Judicial Council. (Subd (c) amended effective January 1, 2007.)
(d) Cases added on and right to peremptory challenge If the coordination trial judge grants the petition, the included actions will be coordinated as add-on cases and the right to file a peremptory challenge under Code of Civil Procedure section 170.6 will be limited by rule 3.516. (Subd (d) amended effective January 1, 2007.)
(e) Assignment of coordination motion judge if cases not added on If the coordination trial judge denies the petition as a request to coordinate an add-on case under rule 3.544, the Chair of the Judicial Council must assign a coordination motion judge to determine whether coordination is appropriate under rule 3.524. (Subd (e) amended effective January 1, 2007.)
Plain-English Summary
Sometimes a fresh petition for coordination turns out to overlap with a coordination proceeding that already exists. Rather than starting an entirely separate track, Rule 3.532 lets the Chair of the Judicial Council hand that petition to the coordination trial judge already presiding over the related cases, who decides it as a request to add on the new actions under Rule 3.544.
The trial judge’s order must say plainly whether the request is granted or denied, and the petitioner carries the same filing and service duties as any other coordination order — filing it in each included action, serving every appearing party, and sending a copy to the Chair. Granting the request folds the included actions in as add-on cases and, in the process, narrows a party’s right to file a peremptory challenge under Code of Civil Procedure section 170.6, consistent with the limits Rule 3.516 already places on that right in a coordination proceeding.
If the trial judge decides the cases do not belong with the existing proceeding, the petition does not end there. Rule 3.532(e) requires the Chair of the Judicial Council to assign a coordination motion judge to evaluate the petition from the start, the same way any new petition for coordination gets decided under Rule 3.524.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens when a new coordination petition overlaps with an existing coordinated proceeding?
The Chair of the Judicial Council may assign the petition to the trial judge already presiding over the existing coordinated cases, to decide it as an add-on request under Rule 3.544.
Does adding cases on to an existing coordination proceeding affect the right to a peremptory challenge?
What if the trial judge denies the request to add the cases on?
The Chair of the Judicial Council must assign a coordination motion judge to decide the petition on its own merits under Rule 3.524.
Who has to serve and file the trial judge’s order on the add-on request?
The petitioner, who must file the order in each included action, serve it on each appearing party, and submit a copy to the Chair of the Judicial Council.
Amendment History
Rule 3.532 amended and renumbered effective January 1, 2007; adopted as rule 1532 effective 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
Also known as: add-on case existing coordination californiacrc 3.532 petition already coordinatedperemptory challenge coordination add-onccp 170.6 coordination limit