Fraser MacDonald v. Jack L. Sinclair, et al.

Summary

The United States District Court for the District of Arizona grants in part the parties’ stipulation to consolidate two shareholder derivative actions involving Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. MacDonald v. Sinclair is designated as the lead action, future filings are directed to that case, and The Brown Law Firm, P.C. and Kuehn Law, PLLC are appointed co-lead counsel for plaintiffs.

Holdings

1. The actions were properly consolidated because they involved common questions of law and fact and consolidation would promote convenience and economy in administration.
2. Consolidation did not merge the actions into a single cause or alter the parties’ rights, but all future filings concerning both actions were required to use the MacDonald caption and no additional documents could be filed in Kaiser.
3. The court appointed The Brown Law Firm, P.C. and Kuehn Law, PLLC as co-lead counsel for the plaintiffs in the consolidated actions.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the two shareholder derivative actions should be consolidated under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 42(a).
2. Whether the court should designate The Brown Law Firm, P.C. and Kuehn Law, PLLC as co-lead counsel for the consolidated plaintiffs.
3. What caption and filing procedures should govern the consolidated actions.

Disposition

other