IN RE: Western Electric Company, Inc., Employment Practices Litigation

i—mmeeeee	ae at SLL ; Shere - i
Case MDL No. 477 Document 2 Filed 05/19/15 Page 1 of 2 ]: |
EEL	FA - I
DOCKET NO. 477 PRRINEIRET EAT 7 EER
BEFORE THE JUDICIAL PANEL ON MULTIDISTRICT LITIGATION . { AT	[Ep r REE Lite .
vio (9g
IN RE WESTERN ELECTRIC COMPANY, INC., EMPLOYMENT. .PRAGTICES | / 5 oO :	LITIGATION HRS A s/t -
ORDER DENYING TRANSFER¥* i
Presently before the Panel is a motion, pursuant to
28 U.S.C. §1407, brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Po EE
Commission (EEOC), plaintiff in the two actions listed on Po eT .
the attached Schedule A, for transfer of the action pending i oe
in the District of Arizona to the Northern District of Illinois i. a
for coordinated or consolidated pretrial proceedings with : _
the action pending there. |
On the basis of the papers filed and the hearing held,
we find that Section 1407 transfer would neither serve the
convenience of the parties and witnesses nor further the : : ]
just and efficient conduct of the litigation. Given the 3 AEminimal number of actions before us, movant has failed to AE
persuade us that any common questions of fact involved in i Sr
these actions are sufficiently complex, and that the accompany- i :
ing discovery will be so time-consuming, as to justify Section :
1407 transfer. See In re Scotch Whiskey Antitrust Litigation, | :
299 F. Supp. 543), 544 (J.P.M.L. 1969). We also note that
the Illinois action has been pending for over five years :
and the Arizona action has been pending for over three years, Lo i
and yet the EEOC has previously made no effort to obtain Co
centralized pretrial treatment of the two actions. Finally, Po
we point out that suitable alternatives to transfer exist i
in order to minimize the possibility of duplicative discovery ;
and/or conflicting pretrial rulings. See, e.g., In re Eli :
Lilly and Company (Cephalexin Monohydrate) Patent Litigation, v
446 F. Supp. 242, 244 (J.P.M.L. 1978). See also Manual
for Complex Litigation, Parts I and II, §§3.11 (rev. ed. }
1977). Lo 3
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that the motion for transfer E	pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §1407 be, and the same hereby is,
DENIED.
FOR THE PANEL: }
R W. Harper | oo : | .Acting Chairman | : :
*Judge Andrew A. Caffrey took no part in the decision of |	this matter. :

Case MDL No. 477 Document2 Filed 05/19/15 Page	2 of 2
~ ~ SCHEDULE A
MDL~-477 -- In reWestern Electric	Co., Inc. Employment Practices
-Litigation
District of Arizona
Equzl Employment Opportunity Commission V. Western ElectricCo., et al., C.A. No. Civ-76-525-Phx.-W - TT
Northern District ofIllinois :
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Western Electric
Co., et al., C.A. No. 78C3951 TTT