U.S. District Judge Robert Sweet of the Southern District of New York granted Wells Fargo a stay Wednesday in the lead class action suit brought over unwanted car insurance it forced on hundreds of thousands of customers.

During the brief hearing on Jacob v. National General Insurance, 17-cv-05806, Sweet said his decision to grant the stay wasn't a statement on the merits of the case. Rather, it was in deference to the process of consolidating a raft of similar suits currently ending before the federal Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation.

“I don't want to impose on whatever fortunate judge receives the benefaction of these cases,” Sweet said, wryly.