California OAH special education order · August 21, 2020
Order Denying Motion to Consolidate
OAH Case No. 2020080468 · ALJ Linda Johnson
OAH denied Student's motion to consolidate without prejudice. Student filed the second case shortly before San Jose's set hearing and would not keep the existing dates, so the filing looked like a last-minute bid to continue.
Summary
San Jose filed a due process case in June 2020, with hearing set for September 1, 2020. On August 18, 2020, Student filed a second case and moved to consolidate the two. San Jose opposed unless both cases were heard on the September dates. Although the cases shared common questions of law or fact, OAH denied the motion without prejudice because Student would not agree to the existing dates and could have filed earlier; the late filing appeared to be an attempt to delay the hearing at the last moment. The parties may file a joint motion to consolidate and continue if they agree on dates.
Why it matters
Families who want their own claims heard with a district's case should file early. OAH may refuse to consolidate when a late-filed case looks like a way to push back a hearing date the parties already agreed to.
Key authority cited
- Gov. Code, § 11507.3, subd. (a)
- Code Civ. Proc., § 1048, subd. (a)
Topics
Full text of the order
Published text of the OAH order. Page headers and numbers from the original PDF have been dropped.
BEFORE THE
OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS
STATE OF CALIFORNIA
IN THE MATTER OF:
PARENT ON BEHALF OF STUDENT,
v.
SAN JOSE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT.
OAH CASE NUMBER 2020080468
ORDER DENYING MOTION TO CONSOLIDATE
AUGUST 21, 2020
On June 1, 2020, San Jose Unified School District filed with the Office of Administrative Hearings a Request for Due Process Hearing in OAH case number 2020080468, First Case, naming Student.
On August 18, 2020, Student filed a Request for Due Process Hearing in OAH case number 2020080468, Second Case, naming San Jose.
On August 18, 2020, Student filed a Motion to Consolidate First Case with Second Case. During the prehearing conference in First Case on August 21, 2020, San Jose orally opposed Student’s motion.
CONSOLIDATION
No statute or regulation specifically provides a standard to be applied in deciding a motion to consolidate special education cases. However, OAH will generally consolidate matters that involve the same parties, a common question of law and/or fact, and when consolidation of the matters furthers the interests of judicial economy by saving time or preventing inconsistent rulings. (See Gov. Code, § 11507.3, subd. (a)
[administrative proceedings may be consolidated if they involve a common question of law or fact]; Code of Civ. Proc., § 1048, subd. (a) [same applies to civil cases].)
Although First Case and Second Case involve a common question of law or fact, San Jose opposes consolidation unless Second Case was consolidated with First case and heard on the dates currently scheduled in First Case. The due process hearing in First Case commences on September 1, 2020. The due process hearing in Second Case does not commences until October 13, 2020. Student was not prepared to agree to hear Second Case on the dates set in First Case. On June 17, 2020, the parties jointly asked for a continuance in First Case to mediate and asked for the hearing to commence on September 1, 2020. Student could have filed Second Case earlier so both cases could have been heard on the dates previously requested in First Case as Student’s late filing appears more to be an attempt to continue the hearing at the last moment. Consequently, Student’s motion to consolidate is denied without prejudice.
The parties are encouraged to work together to agree on mutually agreeable dates to hear both First Case and Second Case. If parties reach such an agreement they may submit a joint motion to consolidate and continue.
ORDER
1. Student’s Motion to Consolidate is denied without prejudice. The parties
may submit a joint motion to consolidate and continue if they can agree on hearing dates.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Linda Johnson Administrative Law Judge Office of Administrative Hearings