Coordination of civil actions sharing a common question of fact or law is appropriate if one judge hearing all of the actions for all purposes in a selected site or sites will promote the ends of justice taking into account whether the common question of fact or law is predominating and significant to the litigation; the convenience of parties, witnesses, and counsel; the relative development of the actions and the work product of counsel; the efficient utilization of judicial facilities and manpower; the calendar of the courts; the disadvantages of duplicative and inconsistent rulings, orders, or judgments; and, the likelihood of settlement of the actions without further litigation should coordination be denied.
§ 404.1.When Coordination Appropriate
Title 4. Of the Place of Trial, Reclassification, and Coordination of Civil Actions · Chapter 3. Coordination · Enacted 1972 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentence§ 404.1 lists the factors a judge weighs in deciding whether to coordinate related actions before one judge -- how central the shared question is, convenience to everyone involved, how far each case has progressed, efficient use of the courts, the risk of conflicting rulings, and the likelihood of settlement without coordination.
Full Text of § 404.1
Plain-English Summary
The central question is whether one judge hearing all the actions, at one or more selected sites, will promote the ends of justice. § 404.1 breaks that question into concrete factors: whether the common question of fact or law is predominating and significant to the litigation; the convenience of the parties, witnesses, and counsel; how far each action has developed and the work product counsel has already produced; the efficient use of judicial facilities and staff; the courts' own calendars; the disadvantages of duplicative or inconsistent rulings, orders, or judgments; and the likelihood the actions would settle anyway, without further litigation, if coordination were denied.
None of these factors controls by itself. A judge weighs them together, so a case with a strong claim on one -- avoiding conflicting rulings, say -- can still lose out if the others point the other way.
Frequently Asked Questions
What factors decide whether related lawsuits get coordinated in California?
The significance of the shared question, convenience to the parties, witnesses, and counsel, how developed each case already is, efficient use of judicial resources, court calendars, the risk of conflicting rulings, and the odds of settlement without coordination.
Does any overlap between two cases justify coordination?
Not on its own -- § 404.1 asks whether the common question is predominating and significant to the litigation, not merely present.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1972, Ch. 1162.
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: when is coordination appropriate californiastandards for coordinating civil actions california