What is the effect of an order to sever claims on the original case?

An order to sever claims significantly impacts how those claims are handled in court. When claims are severed, it means that each claim will be treated as a distinct and separate action. This will lead to each claim being tried separately, allowing for focused examination of each issue and potentially different outcomes for each claim.

The intent behind severing claims often revolves around managing the complexities of a case, avoiding confusion during trial due to the mixture of issues, or ensuring that the jury is not overwhelmed with the intermingling of various claims that may not be equally relevant to all parties involved. By doing this, the court effectively streamlines the judicial process, ensuring that justice can be served more clearly and effectively on each individual claim.

In contrast, the other options do not accurately reflect the implications of a severance. Merging claims into a single trial suggests a unification rather than separation, dismissing the entire case is a more drastic action that would typically not result from severance, and combining claims for efficiency would also run counter to the nature of severance, which is to isolate claims for clarity and focused adjudication.