STIPULATION AND ORDER TRANSFERRING ACTION TO THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS

WILLIAM B. SHUBB, District Judge.

Plaintiff Kinaya Hewlett and Defendant Consolidated World Travel, Inc. ("CWT"), by and through their undersigned counsel, hereby stipulate and agree as follows:

WHEREAS, on April 6, 2016, Plaintiff filed her initial Complaint asserting class action allegations against CWT for damages and injunctive relief pursuant to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. § 227, et seq. in the United States District Court, Eastern District of California.

WHEREAS, on June 10, 2016, Plaintiff filed a First Amended Class Action Complaint.

WHEREAS, as CWT advised the Court in the Joint Status Report filed on August 5, 2016, (Dkt. No. 20), CWT believed, based on the similarity of Plaintiff's allegations and the allegations asserted against CWT in another putative class action, Bakov v. Consolidated World Travel, Inc. d/b/a Holiday Cruise Line, et. al, No. 1:15-cv-02980 (N.D. Ill.), that this case and Bakov are related.

WHEREAS, the Bakov case was initially filed a year earlier, on April 3, 2015. On May 6, 2015, nearly one year before Plaintiff filed this action, a third plaintiff filed a putative class action asserting similar allegations against CWT, this time again in the Northern District of Illinois. See Herrera v. Consolidated World Travel, Inc., d/b/a Holiday Cruise Line, No. 1:15-cv-0430, at D.E. 1 (N.D. Ill.).

WHEREAS, the Herrera case was consolidated into the Bakov case before Judge Leinenweber, and the Consolidated Class Action Complaint was filed on September 17, 2015 (more than six months before Plaintiff filed her initial complaint in this action).

WHEREAS, in the course of meeting and conferring over discovery issues, the parties in this action have conferred and have agreed that a transfer of Plaintiff's action to the Northern District of Illinois, so that it can be consolidated for all purposes into the Bakov action, is appropriate to avoid duplicative litigation and potentially inconsistent determinations involving seemingly overlapping class memberships, to further the convenience of the parties and witnesses, and to best serve the interests of justice.

WHEREAS, Plaintiff's counsel has also conferred with counsel for plaintiffs in Bakov regarding the issues of transfer and consolidation.

IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED THAT, given the alleged similarities between the two cases and that it appears the same underlying conduct is being challenged, the Parties jointly request that the Court transfer this case to the Northern District of Illinois, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a), so that it may ultimately be consolidated with the Bakov action before Judge Leinenweber. The parties agree that all outstanding discovery shall remain in effect.

IT IS SO ORDERED.