UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK 

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:

ELLEN MARIANI, as administrator of : PROVISIONAL ORDER

the Estate of LOUIS NEIL MARIANI, : GRANTING GOVERNMENT’S

deceased, : MOTION TO INTERVENE,

: FOR CONSOLIDATION, AND

Plaintiff, : FOR A STAY OF DISCOVERY,

: AND ORDER REGARDING

v. : “DOE” PLAINTIFFS

:

: 01 Civ. 11628 (AKH)

UNITED AIR LINES, INC., a :

corporation, :

:

Defendant. :

:

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WHEREAS, on June 28, 2002, the Transportation Security Administration, by

and through the United States of America (the “Government”), moved, by application for an

Order to Show Cause, to intervene in this action for the purpose of seeking enforcement of

statutory and regulatory non-disclosure requirements concerning aviation-related Sensitive

Security Information (“SSI”), to consolidate all actions for wrongful death, personal injury, and

property damage or business loss currently pending or hereinafter filed in this Court pursuant to

the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act, Pub. L. No. 107-42 § 408(b)(3), 115

Stat. 230, 241 (2001) (the “Act”), for the purpose of coordinating all SSI-related discovery, and

to stay discovery in the consolidated actions pending implementation of a consolidated discovery

plan; and

WHEREAS the Court has received written responses to the Order to Show Cause

from counsel for plaintiff Ellen Mariani, counsel for United Air Lines, Inc., counsel for American

Airlines, Inc., and various counsel representing numerous putative plaintiffs; and
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WHEREAS, on July 12, 2002, the Court heard argument from counsel for the

Government, plaintiffs, and defendants, as well as counsel for numerous putative plaintiffs;

NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED THAT the Government’s motion to

intervene in this action is hereby granted; and

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT, pursuant to Rule 42(a) of the Federal Rules

of Civil Procedure, all actions for wrongful death, personal injury, and property damage or

business loss currently pending or hereinafter filed pursuant to the Act against any airline and/or

airline security company, including American Airlines, Inc., United Air Lines, Inc., Argenbright

Security, Inc., Globe Aviation Services Corp., and Huntleigh USA Corp. (all such cases,

collectively, the “Consolidated Actions”), are hereby consolidated for purposes of pretrial

proceedings; and

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT the Clerk of Court shall enter this Order on

the docket of each of the Consolidated Actions, which to date include: Mariani v. United Air

Lines, Inc., 01 Civ. 11628; Doe v. American Airlines, Inc. et al, 02 Civ. 452; Does 1 and 2 v.

United Airlines, Inc. et al.,02 Civ. 456; Doe v. United Air Lines, Inc. et al., 02 Civ. 458;

Sweeney v. United Airlines, Inc. et al., 02 Civ. 1727; Miller et al. v. United Airlines, Inc. et al.,

02 Civ. 1728; Smithwick v. American Airlines, Inc. et al., 02 Civ. 2669; Koutny v. United

Airlines, Inc. et al., 02 Civ. 2802; World Trade Farmers Market et al. v. United Air Lines, Inc. et

al., 02 Civ. 2987; Tower Computer Services, Inc. v. American Airlines, Inc. et al., 02 Civ. 3295;

Doe v. American Airlines, Inc. et al., 02 Civ. 3676; and Pitt v. American Airlines, Inc. et al., 02

Civ. 4365; and

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT this consolidation order is provisional and
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may be amended upon application to the Court; and

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT discovery in the Consolidated Actions is

hereby stayed, subject to further order of the Court at its next case management conference,

presently scheduled as provided below; and

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT a status conference will be held in the

Consolidated Actions on Friday, September 20, 2002, at 2:00 p.m.; and

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT counsel for the Government shall serve all

orders of the Court upon counsel identified on the attached or any expanded or modified service

list, as noticed by newly-filed parties or by the Court (the “Service List”); and

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT, no later than September 13, 2002, counsel

for plaintiffs and putative plaintiffs, and counsel for defendants shall file with the Court and

serve upon counsel identified on the Service List, recommendations regarding the organization of

plaintiffs’ committees and defendants’ committees, if any, identifying that which is suggested by

consensus, and that which is suggested by one or more identified counsel but not agreed to by the

rest; and

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT, no later than September 13, 2002, counsel

for the Government shall file with the Court and serve upon counsel identified on the Service

List recommendations regarding proposed security procedures governing discovery involving

protected Sensitive Security Information; and

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT defendants in the Consolidated Actions will,

upon written request of any current plaintiff except those plaintiffs suing under pseudonyms,

serve answers upon such plaintiffs, no later than July 31, 2002, which date may be extended by
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agreement of the affected parties, and defendants’ time to serve answers in the remaining

Consolidated Actions is hereby adjourned until further order of the Court; and

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT all proceedings before the Honorable James

C. Francis IV, United States Magistrate Judge, involving plaintiffs in the Consolidated Actions,

are hereby sealed; and

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT plaintiffs in the Consolidated Actions who

filed their complaints under pseudonyms, including plaintiffs in Doe v. American Airlines, Inc. et

al, 02 Civ. 452; Does 1 and 2 v. United Airlines, Inc. et al., 02 Civ. 456; Doe v. United Air Lines,

Inc. et al., 02 Civ. 458; and Doe v. American Airlines, Inc. et al., 02 Civ. 3676, shall file

amended complaints under their own names, or file motions seeking to preserve their anonymity,

no later than August 13, 2002. Defendants in the Consolidated Actions will, upon written

request of any such plaintiff, serve answers upon such plaintiffs no later than twenty days after

service of an Amended Complaint utilizing the name of the plaintiff, or no later than five days

after such time as a motion seeking to preserve anonymity is decided by this Court, whichever

time period is greater; these dates may be extended by agreement of the affected parties.

Dated: New York, New York

July 24, 2002

__________________________

Honorable Alvin K. Hellerstein

United States District Judge