With apologies, I just don't know the answer to your question with anything approaching reasonable certainty. I do know that the AIA contained a specific provision limiting consolidation of cases, and I remember reading some articles on the subject indicating that alleged infringement of common patent claim wouldn't be enough get around the limitation. In other words, this provision, as stupid and short-sighted as it was/is, was expressly designed to prevent multi-defendant cases, the theory being that this would make it much more diffcult for "patent trolls". Conversely, the concept of judicial economy, which is virtually always the goal of precedural portions of statues, was thrown out the window.
My very vague recollection is that, even in our NDCA case with HTC, there was a time, fairly close to trial, when there was another defendant remaining in the case, and Judge Grewal declared that the trial of that party would start immediately after the trial against HTC (or maybe it was the other way around). If that's accurate, then perhaps it is a reflection of the article that Gumbo posted, i.e., there can be consolidation for discovery and other pretrial matters, but not for the trial itself. Remember, our cases in the NDCA did indeed involve infringement of claims common to most if not all of the infringers.
So, if this is the way it is, then, as some of us have been saying for several years now, patent expiration in 2015 is now looming. Remember, as long as the suits have been timely filed, then the right to provable damages has been preserved and any or all of the cases can last indefinitely. On the other hand, the more suits that are filed, the more (and more quickly) the expenses of litigation mount for all concerned --- however, each individual defendant is bearing only its own expenses, while TPL/PTSC are bearing all of the expenses from the plaintiff side against all of those multiple defendants. As a result, the issue becomes how the risk/reward/expense ratio can be most effectively handled.
Sorry I can't be more helpful on this particular issue. Best wishes.
