A. Whenever there are pending in different circuit courts of the Commonwealth civil actions brought by six or more plaintiffs which involve common issues of law or fact and arise out of the same transaction, occurrence or the same series of transactions or occurrences, any party may apply to a panel of circuit court judges designated by the Supreme Court for an order of transfer. Upon such application and upon making the findings required by § 8.01-267.1, the panel may order some or all of the actions transferred to a circuit court in which one or more of the actions are pending for purposes of coordinated or consolidated pretrial proceedings. The circuit court to which actions are transferred may enter further orders as provided in § 8.01-267.3. Any subsequent application for further transfer shall be made to the circuit court to which the actions were transferred. Upon completion of pretrial proceedings and any joint hearings or trials, the circuit court may remand the actions to the circuit courts in which they were originally filed or may retain them for final disposition.

B. Any party who files an application for transfer shall at the same time give notice of such application to all parties and to the clerk of each circuit court in which an action that is the subject of the application is pending. Upon receipt of the notice, a circuit court shall not enter any further orders under § 8.01-267.3 until after the panel has entered an order granting or denying an application for transfer pursuant to subsection A.

History

1995, c. 555.