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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF MAINE ALISON McCORMICK, et al., Plaintiffs v. FESTIVA DEVELOPMENT GROUP, LLC, et al., Defendants ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

Civil No. 09-365-P-S

MEMORANDUM DECISION ON DEFENDANT'S MOTION TO SEVER Defendant Rangeley Lake Resort Development Company, LLC ("Rangeley") moves pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 21 to sever itself from the instant suit, arguing that it was misjoined as a defendant. See Defendant Rangeley Lake Resort Development Company, LLC's Motion To Sever Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 21 ("Motion") (Docket No. 71). For the reasons that follow, the Motion is denied. 1 I. Applicable Legal Standards Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 21 provides, in relevant part: "On motion or on its own, the court may at any time, on just terms, add or drop a party." Fed. R. Civ. P. 21. "The rule does not define the grounds for misjoinder, but it is well-settled that parties are misjoined when the preconditions for permissive joinder in Rule 20(a) are not met." Beaulieu v. Concord Group Ins. Co., 208 F.R.D. 478, 479 (D.N.H. 2002). "To properly join two or more defendants in one action, the plaintiff must allege facts that show: (1) that the right to relief asserted against the
"Because a motion to sever is not dispositive of an action, a magistrate judge may hear and determine the motion, subject to reconsideration by a district judge upon a showing that the magistrate judge's order is clearly erroneous or contrary to law." United States v. Bolden, No. CR08-0001, 2008 WL 4174914, at *1 n.1 (N.D. Iowa Mar. 7, 2008).
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defendants arises out of the same transaction, occurrence, or series of transactions or occurrences, and (2) that a question of law or fact in common to both defendants will arise in the action." Id.; see also Fed. R. Civ. P. 20(a)(2) (persons may be joined in one action as defendants if "any right to relief is asserted against them jointly, severally, or in the alternative with respect to or arising out of the same transaction, occurrence, or series of transactions or occurrences" and "any question of law or fact common to all defendants will arise in the action"). "When appropriate, the joinder rules result in beneficial economies of scale and judicial efficiency by resolving related issues in a single lawsuit." Beaulieu, 208 F.R.D. at 479.

"Therefore, the preconditions for permissive joinder are construed liberally in order to promote the broadest scope of action consistent with fairness to the parties." Id. "However, the

determination of whether parties have been misjoined lies within the sound discretion of the district court." Id. "If the test for permissive joinder is not satisfied, a court, in its discretion, may sever the misjoined parties, so long as no substantial right will be prejudiced by the severance." Helm v. Alderwoods Group, Inc., No. C 08-01184 SI, 2010 WL 2219722, at *1 (N.D. Cal. May 28, 2010) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted). "Even if the permissive joinder

requirements are met, the court may sever to avoid delay, jury confusion, or prejudice to the moving party." Id. II. Factual Background The instant action was initiated in state court on June 26, 2009, and removed by Rangeley to this court on August 12, 2009. See Docket Nos. 1-2. Following the resolution of a motion for remand, which ultimately was withdrawn, and two motions to dismiss, see Docket Nos. 5, 7, 14, 25, 30, 31, 48, 56, the discovery deadline was reset to April 1, 2011, see Docket No. 67.

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Discovery has only recently begun.

See Defendant Festiva's Opposition to Defendant

Rangeley's Motion To Sever ("Festiva's Opposition") (Docket No. 76) at 2, 4; Plaintiffs' Opposition to Defendant Rangeley's Motion To Sever ("Plaintiffs' Opposition") (Docket No. 78) at 1, 3. A. Plaintiffs' Allegations The plaintiffs, on behalf of themselves and others similarly situated, seek relief for the defendants' alleged violations of federal and Maine overtime-pay and minimum-wage laws. See Third Amended Complaint (Docket No. 84)

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