Art. 1561.Consolidation For Trial Or Other Limited Purposes

When two or more separate lawsuits are pending in the same court, Article 1561 lets them be consolidated for trial or for some other limited purpose. The power to order it belongs to the section or division where the first-filed action is pending, not to whichever judge happens to be asked first. Before ordering consolidation, that court must hold a contradictory hearing and find that common issues of fact and law predominate over the cases. If a trial date has already been set in the later-filed case, the court must also find that consolidation serves the interests of justice, a second check that protects a case already on track for trial from losing its date without added reason.

The contradictory hearing itself can be skipped. If the party asking for consolidation certifies that everyone involved in every case to be consolidated agrees to it, the court can order consolidation without holding a hearing at all.

Even when the common-issues threshold is met, four things can stop consolidation: it cannot go forward if it would confuse the jury, prevent a fair and impartial trial, give one party an undue advantage, or prejudice the rights of any party. These grounds work as a backstop, letting the court refuse consolidation even in a case that otherwise looks like a good candidate for it.