Central District of California remands a pro se eye-injury suit against Amazon, holding that even allegations of permanent blindness — without quantification of damages — cannot satisfy the $75,000 amount-in-controversy requirement, and denies the plaintiff’s motion for sanctions.
Central District of California denies remand of a wrongful-termination suit by a former Walmart warehouse worker who took medical leave for cancer treatment, holding that lost wages alone — calculated as 2.5 years of back pay plus 2.5 years of front pay — exceed the federal $75,000 amount-in-controv
Central District of California grants an unopposed motion to dismiss three labor claims as preempted by the National Labor Relations Act, then grants the plaintiff’s motion to remand the remaining state-law claims for lack of any remaining federal hook.
Central District of California denies remand of an Amazon discrimination suit, holding that a plaintiff cannot defeat federal jurisdiction by submitting a post-removal stipulation capping damages or by relying on the affirmative defense of mitigation.
Central District of California affirms denial of supplemental security income, holding that the ALJ provided clear and convincing reasons for partially discrediting the claimant’s back-pain testimony where the medical record contained no documentation of the alleged 2018 car accident or any treatmen
Central District of California reverses denial of child’s insurance benefits and SSI, holding the ALJ failed to articulate clear and convincing reasons for discounting the claimant’s testimony about severe fatigue and remanding for a fresh symptom-testimony analysis.
Central District of California denies remand of a Song-Beverly lemon-law suit, holding that a complaint pleading no dollar figures did not start the 30-day removal clock and that GM properly removed after its own investigation showed the amount in controversy.
Central District of California denies remand of a Song-Beverly transmission-defect suit, holding the complaint did not affirmatively reveal removability and that GM properly removed after investigating the vehicle’s purchase price and repair history.
Central District of California denies remand of a lemon-law case over a used 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe, holding that GM established the federal amount in controversy through Kelly Blue Book pricing, statutory offsets, and the maximum two-times Song-Beverly civil penalty.
Central District of California denies remand of a Cadillac CT5 lemon-law suit, holding that vehicle price plus the maximum two-times Song-Beverly civil penalty placed roughly $153,936 in controversy and that GM removed timely after no qualifying paper triggered the 30-day clock.
Central District of California denies remand of an MMWA suit over a used 2023 Nissan Rogue, holding that the federal warranty statute’s $50,000 amount in controversy is satisfied through Song-Beverly damages, civil penalties, and attorney’s fees calculations.
Central District of California affirms denial of supplemental security income, holding that any step-two error in failing to find a claimant’s foot impairments and obesity “severe” was harmless because the ALJ proceeded through the remaining steps and considered those conditions in the residual func
Central District of California reverses denial of disability insurance benefits, holding that the ALJ failed to provide substantial-evidence support for rejecting a consultative examiner’s opinion that limited the claimant to two hours of standing and walking, and that the ALJ’s alternative reasons
Central District of California affirms denial of Social Security benefits, holding that the ALJ permissibly discounted the claimant’s symptom testimony based on her paid 73-hour-per-month caregiving work, gaps in pursuit of treatment, and active daily activities including walking, gardening, and rol
Central District of California remands a Song-Beverly lemon-law suit as untimely removed, holding that a complaint pleading the vehicle’s purchase price and a demand for a civil penalty equal to twice actual damages plainly shows over $75,000 in controversy and starts the 30-day clock at service.
Central District of California remands a Chevrolet Silverado lemon-law suit as untimely removed, holding that the plaintiff’s initial disclosures — including the sales contract and repair orders — were an “other paper” that started the 30-day clock long before the manufacturer removed.
Central District of California dismisses every claim in a lemon-law suit over an EGR-cooler defect, holding the Song-Beverly claims are barred by the four-year UCC statute of limitations and that the fraudulent-concealment claim fails Rule 9(b)’s heightened particularity requirement.
Central District of California denies remand of a misappropriation-of-likeness suit, holding that a plaintiff’s rejection of a $75,001 settlement offer is an “other paper” that started the 30-day removal clock and itself proved the amount in controversy.
Central District of California holds that a ramp agent’s product-liability and negligence claims against airport equipment companies do not “arise under” California workers’ compensation law and may be removed to federal court despite Section 1445(c).
Central District of California affirms denial of Supplemental Security Income, holding that the ALJ properly evaluated a consultative examiner’s opinion and that 23,000 cashier-II jobs in the national economy is a “significant number” at step five.
Central District of California denies remand of a Chevrolet Silverado lemon-law case, holding that civil penalties for an alleged willful Song-Beverly violation count toward the federal amount-in-controversy requirement and that the manufacturer need not prove willfulness to invoke that calculation.
Judge Anne Hwang sua sponte remanded a Mercedes-Benz lemon-law case after finding the defendant’s actual-damages calculation ignored the new January 2025 statutory offsets under Cal. Civ. Code § 871.27 and the conclusory willfulness allegation could not support adding $124,012 in civil penalti
Central District of California denies remand of a Song-Beverly lemon-law case, holding that a state-court civil case cover sheet checking a damages box is not an “initial pleading” or “other paper” that starts the 30-day removal clock.
Central District of California remands a putative wage-and-hour class action, holding that an employer’s speculative estimate of the named plaintiff’s attorneys’ fees cannot satisfy the $75,000 federal amount-in-controversy requirement.