Opinion
1:23-cv-01496-JLT-CDB
03-20-2024
SIERRA SCHOOL EQUIPMENT COMPANY, Plaintiff, v. LAFAYETTE LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, et al., Defendants.
ORDER ON STIPULATION TRANSFERRING ACTION TO THE CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
(Doc. 38)
Pending before the Court is the stipulation of Plaintiff Sierra School Equipment Company and Defendants The Lafayette Life Insurance Company, Pensionlabs Incorporated and Michael Holman, filed March 19, 2024, for order transferring this action to the Central District of California. (Doc. 38). The parties represent that transfer is warranted given that an earlier-filed action pending in that District (Anthony Di Bernardo, et al. v. The Lafayette Life Insurance Company, et al., Case No. 8:23-cv-01035-FWS-KES (C.D. Cal.)) raises similar issues of law and fact as alleged in the action pending before this Court. Id.
Under the first-to-file rule, a court may dismiss a complaint or claim that is duplicative, transfer all or parts of the case to the first-filed district or stay all or parts of the case pending a decision in the prior-related action. See Heinz v. Mazda Motor of America, Inc., No. 2:22-cv-02058-TLN-CKD, 2023 WL 4305118, at *1 (E.D. Cal. June 30, 2023) (citing Kohn Law Grp., Inc. v. Auto PartsMfg. Miss., Inc., 787 F.3d 1237, 1239-40 (9th Cir. 2015)).
The Court having considered the parties' stipulation to transfer and counsel representations therein, the factors articulated in Kohn Law Grp., and good cause appearing, IT IS
HEREBY ORDERED:
1. This case shall be transferred to the Central District of California, so that it can be related to the earlier-filed matter captioned Anthony Di Bernardo, et al. v. The Lafayette Life Insurance Company, et al., Case No. 8:23-cv-01035-FWS-KES (C.D. Cal.).
IT IS SO ORDERED.