Patrick O’Donnell, et al. v. Charter Communications, Inc., et al.

Summary

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri consolidated O’Donnell v. Charter Communications, Inc. with Pitts v. Charter Communications, Inc. because both cases concern alleged breaches involving Charter’s 401(k) savings plan. The court also appointed Schlichter Bogard LLC and Chimicles Schwartz LLP as co-lead interim class counsel and established an interim schedule for selecting or filing the operative complaint.

Holdings

1. Consolidation of this action with Pitts was warranted because the two cases shared common legal and factual questions, and consolidation would reduce the risk of inconsistent adjudications and conserve time and judicial resources.
2. Schlichter Bogard LLC and Chimicles Schwartz LLP were appointed as co-lead interim class counsel because the Rule 23(g)(1)(A) factors and the record demonstrated that their joint appointment would adequately represent the putative class.

Questions Presented

1. Whether this action should be consolidated with Pitts v. Charter Communications under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 42(a) and Eastern District of Missouri Local Rule 4.03.
2. Whether the plaintiffs’ and movants’ counsel should be appointed as co-lead interim class counsel before class certification.

Disposition

other