Section 1. Rule 42, Utah Rules of Civil Procedure is amended to read:Rule 42. Consolidation; separate trials; venue transfer.(a) Consolidation. (1) When actions involving a common question of law or fact or arising from the same transaction or occurrence are pending before the court in one or more judicial districts, the court may, on motion of any party or on the court's own initiative: (A) order that the actions are consolidated in whole or in part for any purpose, including for discovery, other pretrial matters, or a joint hearing or trial; (B) stay any or all of the proceedings in any action subject to the order; (C) transfer any or all further proceedings in the actions to a location in which any of the actions is pending after consulting with the presiding judge of the receiving court; and (D) make other such orders concerning proceedings therein as may tend to avoid unnecessary costs or delay.(1)(2) In determining whether to order consolidation and the appropriate location for the consolidated proceedings, the court may consider, among other factors: (A) the complexity of the actions; (B) the importance of any common question of fact or law to the determination of the actions; (C) the risk of duplicative or inconsistent rulings, orders, or judgments; (D) the case and records classification of each case as described in Rule 4-202.02 of the Utah Code of Judicial Administration; (E) the relative procedural postures of the actions; (F) the risk that consolidation may unreasonably delay the progress, increase the expense, or complicate the processing of any action; (G) prejudice to any party that far outweighs the overall benefits of consolidation; (H) the convenience of the parties, witnesses, and counsel; and (I) the efficient utilization of judicial resources and the facilities and personnel of the court.(2)(3) A motion to consolidate may be filed or opposed by any party to either action to be consolidated, without seeking permission to intervene. The motion must be filed in and heard by the judge assigned to the first action filed and must be served on all parties in each action pursuant to Rule 5. The movant must file in each action notice of the motion and notice of the order denying or granting the motion.(3)(4) If the court orders consolidation, the consolidated case will be heard by the judge assigned to the first action filed, unless otherwise ordered by the presiding judge or agreed upon by the originally assigned judges. The court will order that a single case number be used for all subsequent filings in the consolidated case.(b) Consolidation or severance in whole or in part. For convenience or to avoid prejudice, the court may: (1) order that the consolidated matters be tried together or that a separate trial be held on any one or more claims, crossclaims, counterclaims, third-party claims, or separate issues; or(2) order that the consolidated matters be severed at any point and provide that the matters be treated as separate actions going forward, including that the severed matters be tried by either the judge in the consolidated matter or the originally assigned judge.(c) Reassignment. If the consolidation of actions would be otherwise appropriate but is not administratively possible, the judge assigned to the first action may order the court clerk to reassign the other actions to the judge assigned to the first action. Such actions will be treated for all purposes as if they were consolidated except that the actions will retain their separate case numbers, which must be included on all filings.(d) Venue TransferTransfer of an action.(1) Transfer to proper venue. (A) On timely motion of any party, where transfer to a proper venue is available, the court must transfer any action filed in an improper venue.(2) (B) The court must give substantial deference to a plaintiff's choice of a proper venue. (C) On timely motion of any party, a court may: (i) transfer venue of any action, in whole or in part, to any other venue for any purpose, including for discovery, other pretrial matters, or a joint hearing or trial; (ii) stay any or all of the proceedings in the action; and (iii) make other such orders concerning proceedings therein to pursue the interests of justice and avoid unnecessary costs or delay. In determining whether to transfer venue and the appropriate venue for the transferred proceedings, the court may consider, among other factors, whether transfer will: increase the likelihood of a fair and impartial determination in the action; minimize expense or inconvenience to parties, witnesses, or the court; decrease delay; avoid hardship or injustice otherwise caused by venue requirements; and advance the interests of justice. (3) The court may direct that specified parties pay the expenses, if any, of transfer.(2) Transfer to business and chancery court.(A) If a plaintiff filed the complaint in the district court and the action meets the jurisdictional requirements of the business and chancery court, a party may file a separate notice requesting transfer of the action to the business and chancery court.(B) If a party makes a request to transfer an action to the business and chancery court within 21 days after the appearance of the party:(i) the district court must transfer the action to the business and chancery court unless the district court determines that the transfer will prejudice the interests of justice; and(ii) the district court may not give any deference to the plaintiff's choice to file the complaint in the district court.(C) If a party makes a request to transfer an action to the business and chancery court more than 21 days after the appearance of the party, the district court may:(i) give deference to the plaintiff's choice to file the complaint in the district court; or(ii) transfer the action to the business and chancery court if the factors described in paragraph (d)(3) weigh in favor of transfer.(D) A district court may not transfer the action to the business and chancery court under this rule if the action does not meet the jurisdictional requirements of the business and chancery court.(3) Factors in determining whether to transfer an action. On a motion under paragraph (d)(1) or (2), a court may consider, among other factors, whether the transfer will:(A) increase the likelihood of a fair and impartial determination in the action;(B) minimize expense or inconvenience to parties, witnesses, or the court;(C) decrease delay;(D) avoid hardship or injustice otherwise caused by:(i) the venue requirements if the court is determining whether to transfer the action to the appropriate venue under paragraph (d)(1); or(ii) keeping the action in the district court if the court is determining whether to transfer the action to the business and chancery court under paragraph (d)(2); and(E) advance the interests of justice.(4) Expenses. The court may direct that specified parties pay the expenses, if any, of a transfer of an action to the appropriate venue or to the business and chancery court.