Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, United States Federal Court.

“ Plaintiffs purport to represent a class of all distributors of Holiday Magic products. Plaintiffs argue that the Bridgeman action is strictly a local matter which shares insignificant common factual issues with the rest of the litigation. They point out that, unlike the actions already pending in the transferee district, the complaint in this action does not contain allegations arising under either the federal antitrust or securities laws. Plaintiffs also maintain that they would be unduly inconvenienced if their action were transferred to California. ”

“ Plaintiffs in the action pending in the Western District of Pennsylvania move the Panel for an order transferring all actions to a single district for coordinated or consolidated pretrial proceedings pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1407. All parties except plaintiff Gonzalez favor transfer of their respective actions. We find that all of these actions involve common questions of fact and that transfer to the Northern District of California will best serve the convenience of the parties and witnesses and promote the just and efficient conduct of the litigation. ”

“ Like the actions previously transferred in this litigation, both the Bohaty and Fredrick actions allege that defendants' activities concerning Holiday Magic's multilevel sales and distribution system were fraudulent and in violation of either the federal securities or antitrust laws. Thus, common questions of fact are prevalent and transfer is necessary to prevent needless duplication of discovery. ”