Judge R. Gary Klausner denied a remand motion in a Foot Locker premises-liability case, holding that ‘Employee Sam’ — identified only by first name and physical description — remained a fictitious defendant whose California citizenship must be disregarded under 28 U.S.C. § 1441(b)(1).
Judge John F. Walter sua sponte ordered defendants to show cause why a Textron-related case should not be remanded after Alliance Ground International’s filings inconsistently identified it as both ‘Inc.’ and ‘LLC,’ leaving the court unable to verify whether complete di
Judge Sunshine Sykes denied remand of a Chevrolet Silverado lemon-law case where GM documented $67,065.58 in actual damages and plaintiff specifically alleged willfulness based on eight unsuccessful repair attempts, allowing civil penalties to push the amount in controversy to about $128,833 — well
Judge Sunshine Sykes denied remand of a Wayfair wrongful-termination suit, counting $32,302 in past lost wages plus 1:1 ratios for emotional-distress and punitive damages to reach roughly $96,908 — well above the $75,000 diversity threshold. Plaintiff’s mitigation argument was rejected because
Judge David O. Carter sua sponte remanded a Walgreens wrongful-termination case after refusing to credit speculative emotional-distress, punitive, and attorneys’ fees damages — leaving only $24,327 in past lost wages, well below the $75,000 threshold. He used the opinion to call on Congress to
Judge Hernán D. Vera remanded a janitor’s FEHA discrimination and wage-and-hour suit to state court, rejecting the employer’s argument that the plaintiff’s possible undocumented status and the IRCA/Hoffman back-pay defense created federal-question jurisdiction under Grable. The cou
Magistrate Judge Pedro V. Castillo denied remand of a 2021 GMC Yukon lemon-law case, holding GM had no duty to investigate beyond the complaint and the documented $78,776 in actual damages plus civil penalties (twice actual damages, supported by at least five repair attempts) brought the amount in c
Magistrate Judge Pedro V. Castillo denied remand of a 2019 Chevy Silverado lemon-law case, holding documented actual damages of $54,232 plus civil penalties (twice actual damages, supported by at least ten repair attempts) brought the amount in controversy to roughly $162,698 — well over the $75,000
Judge Breyer adopts a magistrate’s report and recommendation dismissing pro se plaintiff Chikodi Chima’s second federal lawsuit against 26 defendants — lawyers, social workers, police, financial institutions, and the City and County of San Francisco — arising from a state-court child custody dispute
Magistrate Judge Pedro V. Castillo denied remand of a 2022 Chevy Silverado lemon-law suit where actual damages were modest ($34,932) after the mileage offset, but specific willfulness allegations and six repair attempts justified including civil penalties (twice actual damages), bringing the amount