Snider

ORDER

This case comes before the court on defendants’ motion to dismiss and on the California Insurance Company’s motion to intervene. The motions raise a variety of issues. The court will dispose of one issue herein and the balance in a companion unpublished opinion. See Kouba v. Allstate Ins. Co. 523 F.Supp. 148 , 151 n. 2 (E.D.Cal.1981), rev’d on other grounds, 691 F.2d 873 (9th Cir.1982).

I.

The Pleadings

On August 10, 1995, plaintiffs Thearo Snider and Phillip Steele filed this action on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated. The named defendants are Stimson Lumber Company and Stimson Trading-Company, a fictitious business name of Stimson Lumber.

The complaint alleges that defendants manufactured and sold defective hardboard siding. Plaintiffs claim that they purchased the defective siding from defendants, or their agents, and installed it on their dwellings. According to plaintiffs, the siding warped, buckled, cracked, and slipped as a result of weather, exposure and other factors. They allege injury in excess of $50,000.

The complaint contains counts in strict liability, negligence, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and violation of RICO.…