The Virginia Business Litigation Blog
In theory, Virginia follows a “one plaintiff per suit” rule: even if two plaintiffs are similarly situated, they should file their lawsuits separately and not jointly. There’s an exception for when there are at least six plaintiffs. The Multiple Claimant Litigation Act allows six or more plaintiffs to join together for purposes of filing a lawsuit if their claims involve common issues of fact and arise out of the same transaction or occurrence. (See Va. Code ยง 8.01-267.5). As a practical matter, however, multiple plaintiffs with similar claims often end up having their claims tried together regardless of the number of plaintiffs involved. If two cases are substantially similar and involve common issues of law or fact, trial courts can consolidate them for discovery and/or trial irrespective of the requirements of the Multiple Claimant Litigation Act.
Many trial courts take a pragmatic approach to litigation and will consolidate cases that involve identical claims and overlapping evidence. In the recent case of Rejuvenation Clinic, LLC v. Thang Van Dang, for example, two separate plaintiffs filed a lawsuit together in violation of the “one plaintiff per suit” rule. Having fewer than six plaintiffs, they did not meet the requirements of the Multiple Claimant Litigation Act that would have permitted them to file jointly. The Fairfax County Circuit Court acknowledged the procedural impropriety and severed the two cases, but immediately consolidated them for discovery and trial, recognizing the practicality and efficiency of trying these cases together.