Rule 3.544.Add-on cases

Coordination proceedings tend to grow. Rule 3.544 governs how a case gets pulled into one that already exists. A request to coordinate a new case as an add-on largely follows the same requirements as an original petition for coordination, but it goes straight to the coordination trial judge already presiding over the proceeding, under Code of Civil Procedure section 404.4, with proof that a copy reached the Chair of the Judicial Council and the service an original coordination request requires.

Anyone who objects has two windows to act in. Within 10 days after the request is served, an opposing party files a notice of opposition; within 15 days after that, the party has to back it up with a memorandum and supporting declarations. Skipping that second step can itself be a reason for the judge to grant the request — silence after an initial objection does not preserve it.

What happens next depends on whether anyone opposed. If no notice of opposition arrives in time, the trial judge can grant or deny the add-on request without a hearing at all. If someone did object, the judge may order a hearing under the same rules that govern hearings on an original petition, let the parties file more written material, and weigh how far the case has developed and the work counsel has already done, along with anything else relevant. Whichever way the request comes out, the order granting or denying it follows the same filing and service rule as any coordination order, and a grant automatically stays the case just as an original coordination order would.