Three class-action suits accusing crafts retailer Michaels Stores of failing to properly disclose to job applicants its use of their credit reports in employment decisions have been consolidated in federal court in Newark.
The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation ordered April 2 that cases from the U.S. District Courts for the Northern District of Texas and the Western District of Missouri be transferred to New Jersey, where U.S. District Judge Kevin McNulty of the District of New Jersey has been hearing another such case. Michaels, headquartered in Irving, Texas, preferred the Texas venue but the panel picked New Jersey after noting that the defendant has a nationwide presence and that the case before McNulty was filed before the others.
