(a) Attorneys for the plaintiff and defendant, as well as any pro se litigant, shall
file a written notice with the court if they are aware, after reasonable inquiry, of any
companion or related case(s) filed in any court involving (1) common property, (2) common
issues of fact or growing out of the same transaction, or (3) validity or infringement of the
same patent, copyright, or trademark. The notice of related or companion case should
provide the name of the court, the judge, and the case number(s) of the related or companion
case(s).
(b) The term “companion case” includes: a case refiled after dismissal; a case
involving the identical legal issue in the same or similar factual setting as one previously
dismissed though now brought by different counsel with different parties; cases arising out
of the same accident, incident, or transaction involving the same or similar proof; a case filed
for recovery of judgment after an earlier case brought to perpetuate testimony; a case
transferred to or refiled in this district following enforcement of a foreign subpoena in the
case within this district; appeals arising out of the same bankruptcy proceeding; civil
litigation arising out of a criminal activity where the criminal case has already been tried
(including a motion filed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255).
