Grimes v. Mossy Nissan Kearny Mesa

District Court, S.D. California·Decided March 14, 2024·No. 3:22-cv-01345·Unknown

Opinion

JEROME L. GRIMES, Case Nos.: 22-CV-1345 TWR (JLB)

Plaintiff, ORDER (1) DENYING WITHOUT v. PREJUDICE PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE DOCUMENTS ELECTRONICALLY, Defendant. (2) DISMISSING CLAIMS WITH AND WITHOUT PREJUDICE, AND (3) GRANTING LEAVE TO AMEND FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT

(ECF Nos. 11, 12) Presently before the Court are Plaintiff Jerome L. Grimes’s First Amended Complaint (ECF No. 11 (“FAC”)), and Motion for Leave to File Documents Electronically (ECF No. 12 (“ECF Mot.”)). Because Plaintiff is proceeding pro se and has been granted in forma pauperis (“IFP”) status, the Court must screen his First Amended Complaint pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2). For the reasons set forth below, the Court DENIES WITHOUT PREJUDICE Plaintiff’s ECF Motion, DISMISSES WITH PREJUDICE Plaintiff’s Fair Housing Act claim, and DISMISSES WITHOUT PREJUDICE Plaintiff’s Title II and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 claims and fraud claim. / / / Plaintiff is an African American and Native American male proceeding pro se. (FAC ¶ 1.) Plaintiff purchased a vehicle repair warranty from Allstate Insurance Company that was effective from 2019 to 2024. (Id. ¶ 13; see also ¶ 17.) The warranty cost $3,000. (Id. ¶ 22.) The warranty allegedly covers certain repairs for his 2018 Nissan Kicks (SUV). (See Id. ¶ 14.) For reasons that are unclear, Plaintiff also, however, maintains that he entered into the warranty agreement with Defendant. (Id. ¶ 21.) On December 1, 2021, Plaintiff brought his SUV to Defendant’s repair shop to fix its continuously variable transmission (“CVT”). (Id. ¶ 14.) Defendant’s employee, Darryl Hern, a Caucasian, allegedly informed Plaintiff on December 16, 2021, that Defendant would not repair the SUV because Defendant found a hole in the CVT that it suspected arose from Plaintiff striking something while driving, thereby voiding his warranty. (Id. ¶¶ 15, 18.) Plaintiff, however, denied that he had hit anything and asserted he would not continue paying $500 per month if Defendant would not honor his warranty. (Id. ¶ 16.) Plaintiff then spoke with Allstate Insurance, which advised Plaintiff that it would send someone to inspect Plaintiff’s CVT. (Id. ¶ 17.) On January 21, 2022, Allstate sent an agent to inspect the CVT, who concluded that there was no hole. (See id.) Allstate allegedly told Plaintiff that it did not understand why Defendant would not make the necessary repairs to the CVT. (Id.) Allstate apparently advised Plaintiff that it would pay Defendant $6,000 if Defendant agreed to repair Plaintiff’s car. (Id.; see also id. ¶ 24.) As a result of the events, Plaintiff demands $3,100,000 in damages. (Id. ¶ 33.) Plaintiff mentions Defendant is culpable for $21,000,000 in damages; however, it is not clear if he is also demanding that amount. (Id. ¶ 34.) Plaintiff vaguely attributes the amounts to compensatory, exemplary, and punitive damages, as well as a long list of other damages. (See Id.) On September 9, 2022, Plaintiff brought this action against Defendant. (See generally ECF No. 1 (“Compl.”).) On April 17, 2023, the Court dismissed the original Complaint without prejudice for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and failure to state a claim and allowed Plaintiff to file an amended complaint to cure the deficiencies outlined in the Court’s Order. (See generally ECF No. 9 (“Order”).) Accordingly, Plaintiff filed the operative First Amended Complaint on May 19, 2023. (See generally FAC.) In its prior Order, the Court dismissed Plaintiff’s complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. (See Order at 4–6.) The Court therefore begins, as it must, by assuring itself that it has jurisdiction over this action. See Steel Co. v. Citizens for a Better Env’t, 523 U.S. 83, 93–102 (1998); see also Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(h)(3) (“If the court determines at any time that it lacks subject-matter jurisdiction, the court must dismiss the action.”). All complaints must contain “a short and plain statement of the grounds for the court’s jurisdiction.” See Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(1). Federal question jurisdiction is met if the action arises “under the Constitution, laws, or treaties of the United States.” 28 U.S.C. § 1331. “[F]ederal jurisdiction generally exists ‘only when a federal question is presented on the face of the plaintiff’s properly pleaded complaint.’” Holmes Grp., Inc. v. Vornado Air Circulation Sys., Inc., 535 U.S. 826, 831 (2002) (quoting Caterpillar Inc. v. Williams, 482 U.S. 386, 392 (1987)). Plaintiff has remedied the prior jurisdictional defect by adding claims for racial discrimination pursuant to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000d, and the Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 3601, et seq. The Court therefore concludes that it now has subject matter jurisdiction over this action and proceeds to analyze the merits of Plaintiff’s ECF Motion and the sufficiency of Plaintiff’s First Amended Complaint pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e). The Court now turns to Plaintiff’s ECF Motion (ECF No. 12). Pursuant to Civil Local Rule 5.4, “[e]xcept as prescribed by local rule, order, or other procedure, the Court has designated all cases to be assigned to the Electronic Filing System.” S.D. Cal. CivLR 5.4(a). With respect to pro se litigants, however, “[u]nless otherwise authorized by the court, all documents submitted for filing to the Clerk’s Office . . . must be in legible, paper form.” Office of the Clerk, United Stated District Court for the Southern District of California, Electronic Case Filing Administrative Policies and Procedures Manual, § 2(b) (Sept. 8, 2023). “A pro se party seeking leave to electronically file documents must file a motion and demonstrate the means to do so properly by stating their equipment and software capabilities in addition to agreeing to follow all rules and policies in the CM/ECF Administrative Policies and Procedures Manual.” Id. The manual refers to the Court’s official website for CM/ECF technical specifications, id. at § 1(i), which include a “[c]omputer running Windows or Macintosh;” “[s]oftware to convert documents from a word processor format to portable document format (PDF),” such as “Adobe Acrobat 7.0 and higher;” “[i]nternet access supporting a transfer rate of 56kb or higher;” a compatible browser, such as “Firefox 15, Internet Explorer 9, and Safari 5.1/6 or later version;” a “[s]canner to image non-computerized documents 400 pixels per inch (ppi);” and a PACER account. United States District Court, Southern District of California, CM/ECF Information: General Information, https://www.casd.uscourts.gov/cmecf.aspx#undefined1 (last visited Feb. 14, 2024). Plaintiff’s ECF Motion comprises a declaration in which he identifies the specifications for his computer equipment and avers, “[t]he capabilities of the PLAINTIFF’S Dell laptop (Notebook) is speed, reliability, storage, and accuracy for repetitively uploading pdf-documents to the HEREIN Court’s ECF System.” (ECF Mot. at 2.) Plaintiff further avers that he has “read” the CM/ECF Administrative Policies and Procedures Manual and that he “agree[s] to abide by the rules and

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Grimes v. Mossy Nissan Kearny Mesa, (S.D. Cal. 2024).

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