(a) When actions involving a common question of law or fact are pending before the court, it may order a joint hearing or trial of any or all the matters in issue in the actions; it may order all the actions consolidated and it may make such orders concerning proceedings therein as may tend to avoid unnecessary costs or delay.
§ 1048.Joint Hearing Ordered; Separate Trial Ordered
Title 14. Of Miscellaneous Provisions · Chapter 7. General Provisions · Last amended 1971 · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 1048 lets a court order a joint hearing or consolidation of actions sharing a common question of law or fact to save cost and time, and separately lets it order separate trials of issues or causes of action for convenience or to avoid prejudice, while preserving the right to jury trial.
Full Text of § 1048
(b) The court, in furtherance of convenience or to avoid prejudice, or when separate trials will be conducive to expedition and economy, may order a separate trial of any cause of action, including a cause of action asserted in a cross-complaint, or of any separate issue or of any number of causes of action or issues, preserving the right of trial by jury required by the Constitution or a statute of this state or of the United States.
Plain-English Summary
Subdivision (a) addresses cases that overlap. When actions pending before the court involve a common question of law or fact, the court may order a joint hearing or trial of any or all matters in issue, order the actions consolidated outright, and make whatever orders on the proceedings will help avoid unnecessary cost or delay.
Subdivision (b) runs in the opposite direction. Within a single case, the court may order a separate trial of any cause of action, including one raised in a cross-complaint, or of any separate issue, or of any number of causes of action or issues, when doing so serves convenience, avoids prejudice, or promotes expedition and economy.
Either way, the statute is explicit that the constitutional or statutory right to a jury trial has to be preserved. Consolidating overlapping cases or splitting a single case into separate trials is a case-management tool, not a way to work around a party's right to have a jury decide the issues it is entitled to have a jury decide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a California court combine two related lawsuits into one proceeding?
Yes. Under § 1048(a), the court may order a joint hearing or trial, or consolidate the actions outright, when they share a common question of law or fact.
Can a court split a single case into separate trials on different issues?
Yes. Section 1048(b) allows a separate trial of any cause of action, cross-complaint claim, or issue when convenience, avoiding prejudice, or expedition and economy justify it.
Does consolidating or severing a case affect the right to a jury trial?
No. Section 1048 requires that any right to a jury trial guaranteed by the Constitution or a statute be preserved regardless of how the court manages the actions.
Amendment History
Amended by Stats. 1971, Ch. 244.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 28, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: consolidation of actions californiaseverance separate trial california civil case