The defendants brought a motion to sever the issue of the plaintiff's standing to bring the action, seeking to have it determined in advance of trial.
The plaintiff opposed the motion.
The court reviewed the principles governing bifurcation, noting that a litigant has a basic right to have all issues resolved in one trial and that severance should only be ordered in the clearest of cases.
The court dismissed the motion, finding that the issues were interconnected, severance would likely lead to appeals and delay, and the motion was brought late in the proceedings after significant resources had already been expended.
