Glassberg v. Holland America Line Inc

1 Judge James L. Robart 3 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 4 WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE ROSANNE GLASSBERG, CASE NO. C24-00915JLR 7 Plaintiff, STIPULATED MOTION TO CONSOLIDATE PLAINTIFF’S 8 v. RELATED CASES HOLLAND AMERICA LINE N.V. LLC, NOTE ON MOTION CALENDAR: et al., November 14, 2024 Defendants.

12 MARCIA ULRICH, CASE NO. C24-00961JLR 13 Plaintiff, 14 v. HOLLAND AMERICA LINE INC, et al., Defendants.

18 I. INTRODUCTION 19 Plaintiff Rosanne Glassberg, Defendants Holland America Line N.V. LLC, Holland America Line, Inc., and HAL Antillen N.V. (collectively “Holland”), and Defendant Scootaround, Inc. (“Scootaround”) respectfully move this Court for an order consolidating Marcia Ulrich v. Holland America Line, Inc., et al. (“Ulrich”), case number 2:24-cv-00961-BJR with the above- captioned matter as these cases share a common question of law or fact.

24 II. STATEMENT OF FACTS 25 This is a personal injury case arising out of an incident that occurred on June 25, 2023, involving one of Scootaround’s mobility scooters on one of Holland’s cruise ships. Glassberg filed a Complaint on June 25, 2024. On June 28, 2024, Plaintiff Marcia Ulrich filed a Complaint for a scooters on the same Holland cruise ship as Glassberg. Ulrich is Glassberg’s sister and the circumstances of the accident are similar.

3 On October 14, 2024 Scootaround filed Motions to Dismiss for Forum Non Conveniens (“Motion to Dismiss”) in both Glassberg and Ulrich. Pursuant to LCR 42, the parties engaged in the requisite meet-and-confer discussions whereupon Plaintiff and Holland agreed to consolidate these matters. Further, Holland agreed that it would not pursue a crossclaim against Scootaround if Scootaround withdrew its pending Motion to Dismiss. Scootaround agreed to those terms and filed a Notice to Withdraw Pending Motion to Dismiss pursuant to LCR 7(l). On November 8, 2024, the Honorable Barbara J. Rothstein in the Ulrich matter issued a case schedule order setting the following deadlines: 11 FRCP 26(f) Conference Deadline 12/19/2024 Initial Disclosure Deadline 12/26/2024 Joint Status Report Deadline 1/2/2025 13 III. LEGAL AUTHORITY AND ARGUMENT 14 FRCP 42(a) provides that if actions involve “a common question of law or fact” the court may consolidate the actions. LCR 42 further provides that a motion to consolidate should be filed in the earlier case and the stipulation should address scheduling issues. The district court has broad discretion under this rule to consolidate cases pending in the same district.” Inv’rs Research Co. v.U.S. Dist. Ct. for Cent. Dist. of Cal., 877 F.2d 777, 777 (9th Cir. 1989).

19 The parties seek to consolidate Glassberg and Ulrich, for the sake of efficiency and cost.

20 These cases occurred on the same cruise ship, during the same cruise, with the same type of mobility scooter, and with similar allegations as to how the accidents occurred. The cases will involve most of the same witnesses, the same discovery, and a common question of law and fact as the causes of action alleged by Glassberg and Ulrich are almost identical. Consolidating the cases will allow the Court to hear all motions, including dispositive motions, in conjunction to expedite resolution and ensure consistency in the findings and conclusions of the Court. The parties further agree on a preference to the case schedule issued on November 8, 2024 to govern the consolidated action.

1 IV. CONCLUSION 2 Based on the foregoing, consolidating Plaintiff’s related matters is appropriate. The parties request that the Court grant this motion and adopt the November 8, 2024 scheduling order.

4 I certify that this memorandum contains 508 words, in compliance with the Local Civil Rules.

6 DATED this 14th day of November 2024. DATED this 12th day of November 2024.

7 By: /s/Ofelia A. Gomez By:/s/ Amie C. Peters Joseph M. Winsby, WSBA #57649 Amie C. Peters, WSBA #37393 Ofelia A. Gomez, WSBA #53917 Amanda E. Peters, WSBA #49161 LORBER, GREENFIELD & OLSEN, LLP BLUE WATER LEGAL, PLLC 11900 NE 1st Street, Suite 300 144 Railroad Avenue, Ste 308 Bellevue, WA 98005 Edmonds, WA 98020 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Attorneys for Defendant Attorneys for Plaintiffs ROSEANNE SCOOTAROUND, INC. GLASSBERG and MARCIA ULRICH DATED this 12th day of November 2024.

15 By: /s/ Edgar Nield Edgar R. Nield, WSBA # 53297 MALTZMAN & PARTNERS, P.A.

506 Second Avenue, Suite 1400 Seattle, WA 98104 [email protected] Attorneys for Defendant HOLLAND AMERICA LINE N.V. LLC, HOLLAND AMERICA LINE, INC, and HAL ANTILLEN N.V. 22 IT IS SO ORDERED that the Stipulated Motion to Consolidate is GRANTED.

23 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the November 8, 2024 case schedule order will stand.

24 FRCP 26(f) Conference Deadline 12/19/2024 Initial Disclosure Deadline 12/26/2024 25 Joint Status Report Deadline 1/2/2025 DATED this __18th_ day of November 2024. A __________________________________ 1 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 2 The undersigned certifies under the penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of Washington that I am now and at all times herein mentioned, a citizen of the United States, a resident of the State of Washington, over the age of eighteen years, not a party to or interested in the above-entitled action, and competent to be a witness herein.

6 On the date given below I caused to be served the foregoing STIPULATED MOTION TO CONSOLIDATE PLAINTIFF’S RELATED CASES on the following parties by electronic transmission through the CM/ECF system. Upon completion of said transmission of said documents, a receipt is issued to filing party acknowledging receipt by the CM/ECF system. Once CM/ECF has served all designated recipients, proof of electronic service is available to the filing party. I am readily familiar with the business’ practice for filing electronically, and the document will be electronically filed that same day in the ordinary course of business following ordinary business practices.

Attorneys for Plaintiffs Attorneys for Defendants ROSANNE GLASSBERG HOLLAND AMERICA LINE N.V. LLC, MARCIA ULRICH HOLLAND AMERICA LINE, INC. Amie Christine Peters, WSBA #37393 HAL ANTILLEN N.V. Amanda E. Peters, WSBA #49161 Edgar R. Nield, WSBA # 53297 BLUE WATER LEGAL PLLC MALTZMAN & PARTNERS, P.A.

PO Box 83 506 Second Avenue, Suite 1400 Railroad Avenue, Suite 308 Seattle, WA 98104 Edmonds, WA 98020 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] SIGNED this 14th day of November 2024.

23 /s/ Te ri A. Moor e Teri A. Moore, Legal Assistant