Section 15Part 0 —
Consolidation of actions
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It is competent for the Court, upon an application by or on behalf of two or more defendants in actions in respect of the same, or substantially the same, libel, slander, slander of title or other injurious falsehood brought by one and the same person to make an order for the consolidation of such actions, so that they shall be tried together; and after such order has been made, and before the trial of the said actions, the defendants in any new actions instituted in respect of the same, or substantially the same, libel, slander, slander of title or other injurious falsehood, shall also be entitled to be joined in a common action upon a joint application being made by such new defendants and the defendants in the actions already consolidated.
In a consolidated action under this section the Court shall assess the whole amount of the damages (if any) in one sum, but a separate verdict shall be taken for or against each defendant in the same way as if the actions consolidated had been tried separately; and if the Court finds a verdict against the defendant or defendants in more than one of the actions so consolidated, the judge shall apportion the amount of the damages which he has so found between and against the said last mentioned defendants, and the judge at the trial, if he awards to the plaintiff the costs of the action, shall thereupon make such order as he deems just for the apportionment of such costs between and against such defendants.