AUSTIN (LN) — U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan Hightower on Wednesday consolidated plaintiff Michelle Neville’s data-breach lawsuit into the master Oracle Corporation data-breach multidistrict litigation, administratively closing the individual case and transferring its documents to the central file.
The order, filed May 13, 2026, in the Western District of Texas, directs the Clerk of Court to close the related action, No. 1:26-cv-00873, and transfer all documents already docketed in that case into the consolidated Oracle litigation, Master File No. 1:25-cv-01805.
Hightower’s order clarifies a previous consolidation directive entered May 8, 2026, at Docket 19. The consolidation follows Paragraph 12 of the court’s earlier Consolidation Order entered Jan. 5, 2026, in the Oracle case (Dkt. 25).
The transfer places Neville’s claims under the umbrella of the master file overseen by Hightower, who handles non-dispositive pretrial matters and issues findings and recommendations for case-dispositive motions in the Oracle litigation.
The order does not address the substantive merits of Neville’s data-breach allegations or the specific facts underlying her complaint. It serves purely as an administrative mechanism to centralize discovery and briefing within the MDL.
The Oracle data-breach litigation involves numerous plaintiffs alleging unauthorized access to sensitive personal information. Consolidation allows the court to manage common discovery and pretrial motions efficiently across multiple related cases.
Hightower is a U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Western District of Texas, appointed to handle referrals from District Judge Alan D. Albright under 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1) and Local Rule 1 of Appendix C.