Owen

MEMORANDUM *

Debbie Owen brought a class action lawsuit in the Western District of Washington against her employer, Labor Ready, Inc., for failure to pay overtime compensation in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). Two months later, Patricia Huntley, another Labor Ready employee, brought a similar action against Labor Ready in the same court. Simultaneously with the filing of her complaint, Huntley also filed a motion to consolidate her case with Owen’s and to stay or dismiss the consolidated action pending the outcome of a concurrent California state court action against Labor Ready. The district court granted Huntley’s motion to consolidate and stayed the consolidated action pursuant to the Colorado River and Younger doctrines. Owen appealed.

We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . We affirm the district court’s decision to consolidate; however, we hold that the district court abused its discretion in granting a stay under Colorado River and erred in concluding that a stay was required under Younger. Accordingly, we reverse and remand for further proceedings.

I.

Although a consolidation order ordinarily is not immediately reviewable, this court…