DECISION AND ORDER INTRODUCTION Defendant G.Skill USA, Inc. (“G.Skill”) has moved to stay this putative class action pending resolution of a parallel putative class action in the Central District of California, Tristan Hurd v. G. Skill International Enterprise Co., LTD. et al., No. 22-CV-00685. ECF No. 9 at 1. Plaintiff Noah Nelson (“Nelson”) opposes the motion. ECF No. 11. For the reasons that follow, G.Skill’s motion is GRANTED and the action is stayed pending further order of the Court. BACKGROUND I. The Hurd Action On January 31, 2022, plaintiffs Tristan Hurd (“Hurd”) and Ken Dimicco (“Dimicco”) (together, the “Hurd Plaintiffs”) filed a putative class action complaint in the Central District of California against G.Skill, G.Skill International Enterprise Co., LTD, Racerspeed, Inc., and Neuteck, Inc. (the “Hurd Defendants”). ECF No. 9-1 at 22. The Hurd Plaintiffs allege that G.Skill advertises that its high-speed computer memory products, including its Trident, Aegis, and Ripjaws lines, will run at the advertised speeds, measured in megahertz (“MHz”), “out-of-the-box.” Id. at 41. They further allege that memory advertised as running at, for example, 3,800 MHz, runs at only 2,133 MHz unless the user engages in a process known as “overclocking.” Id. at 42-43. However, overclocking poses “material risk to the functionality of the computer system, as well as to the memory sticks themselves” and may “void warranties on important components,” such as the computer’s processor. Id. at 43-44. Accordingly, the Hurd Plaintiffs allege that the Hurd Defendants’ advertisements are misleading to reasonable consumers. Id. at 46. The Hurd Plaintiffs, Hurd and Dimicco, are residents of California and New York, respectively. Id. at 34. They bring their claims under the consumer protection laws of California and several other states, including New York General Business Law §§349 and 350. Id. at 52-54, 61-62. They also seek relief for breach of express warranty and negligent misrepresentation. ECF No. 9-1 at 63-65. G.Skill filed an Answer to the Hurd Plaintiffs’ First Amended Complaint on November 21, 2022. ECF No. 12-1 at 1. On October 26, 2022, the Hurd court set discovery deadlines and a briefing schedule for class certification. Id. at 70. The parties are to complete class certification discovery by May 5, 2023. Id. The Hurd Plaintiffs’ motion for class certification is due June 2, 2023, and a class certification hearing is scheduled for August 11, 2023. Id. at 70-71. The Hurd court has stayed merits discovery, permitting only class certification discovery until further order of the court. Id. at 71. II. The Nelson Action On April 17, 2022, almost three months after the Hurd Plaintiffs filed their complaint, Nelson filed this putative class action in this Court against G.Skill on behalf of a “New York Class” and a “Consumer Fraud Multi-State Class” who purchased G.Skill’s computer memory products. ECF No. 1
25, 51. Like the Hurd Plaintiffs, Nelson alleges that, while G.Skill advertises the memory as being capable of achieving speeds of 3,600 MHz to 4,000 MHz out-of-the-box, in reality, it can only reach such speeds if the users engage in overclocking. Id.
