Jose Gomez v. Nissan North America, Inc.

CourtDistrict Court, C.D. California
DecidedJanuary 3, 2025
Docket2:24-cv-09020
StatusUnknown

This text of Jose Gomez v. Nissan North America, Inc. (Jose Gomez v. Nissan North America, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, C.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Jose Gomez v. Nissan North America, Inc., (C.D. Cal. 2025).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT S 6 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA J re CIVIL MINUTES - GENERAL Case No. 2:24-cv-09020-SVW Date January 3, 2025 Title Jose Gomez v. Nissan North America, Inc.

Present: The Honorable STEPHEN V. WILSON, U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE Paul M. Cruz NA Deputy Clerk Court Reporter / Recorder Attorneys Present for Plaintiffs: Attorneys Present for Defendants: N/A N/A

Proceedings: ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR REMAND [11] Before the Court is Plaintiff Jose Gomez’s motion for remand. ECF No. 11. For the reasons below, the motion is GRANTED. I. Factual and Procedural Background On April 15, 2024, Plaintiff Jose Gomez brought Song-Beverly Act claims against Defendant Nissan North America, Inc. (“Defendant” or “Nissan’”) in Superior Court of the State of California, Los Angeles. Defendant was personally served the complaint on April 16, 2024. Jung Decl. § 6, Ex. 2. Plaintiff's complaint makes the following allegations: On September 26, 2022, Plaintiff leased a 2023 Nisan Rogue (the “Subject Vehicle”) from Defendant. Compl. § 8, ECF No. 1-1. While Plaintiff leased the Subject Vehicle, rather than purchasing it outright, the “approximate value” of the Subject Vehicle was $36,538. Jd. The Subject Vehicle came with various warranties, including an agreement that Defendant would preserve or maintain the utility or performance of Plaintiff's vehicle or provide compensation if there was a failure in such utility or performance. Id. § 9.

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The Subject Vehicle suffered from serious defects and nonconformities to warranty. Jd. 10. Plaintiff accordingly presented the Subject Vehicle to Defendant for repair in September 2023, and then again in December 2023. Jd. 11-12. Finally, because of the defects in the Subject Vehicle, Plaintiff “revoke[d] acceptance of [his] Lease Agreement” and brought implied and express warranty claims under the Song-Beverly Act. See generally id. J§ 18-59. Plaintiff sought “reimbursement of the price paid for the vehicle less that amount directly attributable to use by the Plaintiff prior to the first presentation of the nonconformities.” Jd. Additionally, because Plaintiff alleged that “Defendant willfully violated the Song-Beverly Act,” Plaintiff sought “‘a civil penalty of up to two times the amount of actual damages.” Jd. § 32. Plaintiff further sought “sncidental and consequential damages.” Jd. JJ 45, 58. And last, Plaintiff sought “a sum equal to the aggregate amount of costs and expenses, including attorney’s fees, reasonably incurred in connection with the commencement and prosecution of this action.” Jd. § 31. Nearly four months after being served with the complaint, on October 18, 2024, Defendant removed the case to this Court. ECF No. 1. Plaintiff now moves to remand, arguing that Defendant’s removal was untimely. ECF No. 11. IL. Legal Standard ““Federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction.’” Nieratko v. Ford Motor Co., No. 21-cv-01112- BAS-BGS, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 185773, *3 (S.D. Cal. Sept. 28, 2021) (quoting Kokkonen v. Guardian Life Ins. Co. of Am., 511 U.S. 375 (1994)). Accordingly, federal courts may only hear cases as authorized by the Constitution and by statute. Jd. Unless otherwise limited, “any civil action brought in a State court of which the district courts of the United States have original jurisdiction, may be removed by the defendant or the defendants, to the district court of the United States for the district and division embracing the place where such action is pending.” 28 U.S.C. § 1441 (a).

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To invoke a district court’s diversity jurisdiction, a party must demonstrate that there is both complete diversity of citizenship between the parties and that the amount in controversy exceeds the sum or value of $75,000, exclusive of interest and costs. Nieratko, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 185773 at *3; 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a)-(a)(1). ““The burden of establishing federal jurisdiction is on the party invoking federal jurisdiction.’” Nieratko, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 185773 at *3-4 (quoting United States v. Marks, 530 F.3d 799, 810 (9th Cir. 2008)). There is a strong presumption against removal jurisdiction. Gaus v. Miles, 980 F.2d 564 (9th Cir. 1992) (citing Nishimoto v. Federman-Bachrach & Assocs., 903 F.2d 709, 712 n.3 (9th Cir. 1990)); see also Gonzalez v. FCA US, LEC, No. EDCV 19-967 PSG (RAOx), 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 51882, *3 (C.D. Cal. Mar. 24, 2020). The removing defendant bears the burden of establishing original jurisdiction. See Syngenta Crop Prot., Inc. v. Henson, 537 U.S. 28, 33 (2002). Ill. Discussion

A. The Timeliness of Defendant’s Removal There are two different possible deadlines for a defendant to remove, depending on the circumstances. See 28 U.S.C. § 1446(b)(1); see also Harris v. Bankers Life & Cas. Co., 425 F.3d 689, 692-93 (9th Cir. 2005). If the “case clearly is removable on the basis of jurisdictional facts apparent from the face of the complaint,” then the defendant must file a notice of removal within 30 days of service. Harris, 425 F.3d at 692. However, if “it is unclear from the complaint whether the case is removable,” then the defendant need not immediately remove, and instead must remove “within thirty days after the defendant receives ‘an amended pleading, motion, order or other paper’ from which it can be ascertained from the face of the document that removal is proper.” Jd. at 694 (citing 28 U.S.C. § 1446(b)(1)). Beyond those two deadlines, a defendant may remove a case where it “could have demonstrated removability earlier based on its knowledge beyond the pleadings.” Kaxhausen v. BMW Fin. Servs. NA LLC, 707 F.3d 1136, 1141 n.3 (9th Cir. 2013). In this case, Defendant removed the case ~four months after receiving the complaint. ECF No. 1. The question for the Court is therefore whether this case “clearly [was] removable on the basis of

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jurisdictional facts apparent from the face of the complaint,” as that would place Defendant’s removal deadline 30-days after receipt of the complaint, which, in turn, would render Defendant’s removal ~four months after receipt of the complaint untimely.

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Related

Kokkonen v. Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America
511 U.S. 375 (Supreme Court, 1994)
Syngenta Crop Protection, Inc. v. Henson
537 U.S. 28 (Supreme Court, 2002)
Shanna Kuxhausen v. Bmw Financial Services Na Llc
707 F.3d 1136 (Ninth Circuit, 2013)
United States v. Marks
530 F.3d 799 (Ninth Circuit, 2008)
Korn v. Polo Ralph Lauren Corp.
536 F. Supp. 2d 1199 (E.D. California, 2008)
Mitchell v. Blue Bird Body Co.
95 Cal. Rptr. 2d 81 (California Court of Appeal, 2000)

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Bluebook (online)
Jose Gomez v. Nissan North America, Inc., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jose-gomez-v-nissan-north-america-inc-cacd-2025.