Section 45-1561

Citation: Section 45-1561
Parent Document: Habib v. Thurston, 517 A.2d 1 (1986)
Jurisdiction: DC (municipal)
Effective Date: 1986-10-30
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/1995493/habib-v-thurston/ ↗

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[20] Superior Court rules do not make clear what judge should rule on the motion to consolidate. Until cases certified to the Civil Assignment Office by the Landlord and Tenant Branch and the Small Claims Branch are actually called for a jury trial, those respective branches of the Civil Division retain jurisdiction. See Super.Ct. L & T R. 1; Super.Ct.Sm.Cl.R. 1. Thus, unless the rent abatement claim is filed in the Civil Division, no judge assigned to that division, as such, will yet have a clear responsibility, before trial, to rule on a motion to consolidate. The judges of the two branches, however, are technically sitting in the Civil Division; arguably, therefore, either a small claims judge or a landlord and tenant judge has divisional authority to rule on such a motion. Or, under the circumstances, perhaps the civil motions/calendar control judge is a logical choice. In any event, we are satisfied that the question of selecting the proper judge within the Civil Division to rule on a motion to consolidate under these circumstances can easily be resolved administratively and, eventually, be announced by court rule.

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