Gabriele Willis, Henry Hardy, Charles Meredith, Vladyslav Vitske, and Nathan Cornwell, Individually and on Behalf of All Others Similarly Situated v. WestJet Airlines, Ltd.

Summary

The United States District Court for the Southern District of California granted a motion to consolidate two putative class actions concerning the alleged failure of WestJet Airlines, Ltd. to secure consumer personal information. The Court designated the Willis action as the master case, set procedures for the consolidated litigation, required filing of a consolidated complaint, and appointed interim class counsel, interim liaison counsel, and a plaintiffs’ executive committee.

Holdings

1. The court may consolidate the Willis and Yee actions because they involve common questions of law or fact and their similarity and similar procedural posture favor consolidation.
2. The court may appoint interim class counsel before class certification and appointed the proposed interim class counsel, interim liaison counsel, and plaintiffs' executive committee after finding them experienced, knowledgeable, and adequately resourced to represent the putative class.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the two related putative class actions should be consolidated under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 42(a).
2. Whether the proposed attorneys should be appointed as interim class counsel, interim liaison counsel, and members of a plaintiffs' executive committee under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(g)(3).

Disposition

other