Miguel Del Cid Guerra v. Kamala Harris

Opinion

MIGUEL DEL CID GUERRA, Case No. 2:23-cv-05522-WLH Plaintiff, v. R JUE RG IA SR DD ICIN TIG O S NU BJECT MATTER

KAMALA HARRIS, and JANE DOES,

Defendants.

The Court sets an Order to Show Cause regarding Subject Matter Jurisdiction on September 29, 2023, at 1:00 p.m. District courts have diversity jurisdiction over a case where, among other things, the amount in controversy exceeds the sum or value of $75,000. 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a). In the Complaint, Plaintiff Miguel Del Cid Guerra claims that he sustained injuries to the neck, ribs and hand after Defendant Kamala Harris allegedly hit him with a bat. (Complaint, Docket No. 1 at 4). The Complaint alleges damages of $10,000,000 for "Medical Bills....neck injuries, rib fractures, and a broken hand." (Id.). Based on this general allegation, the Court is not convinced the amount-in-controversy requirement is met. See, e.g., Diefenthal v. C.A.B., 681 F.2d 1039, 1052 (5th Cir. 1982) (“While a federal court must of course give due credit to 1 the good faith claims of the plaintiff, a court would be remiss in its obligations if it accepted every claim of damages at face value, no matter how trivial the underlying injury.”); Christensen v. Nw. Airlines, Inc., 633 F.2d 529, 530-31 (9th Cir. 1980) (affirming district court's finding that plaintiff's damages claim was not made in good faith but only for the purpose of obtaining federal court jurisdiction and that the injury was too small to establish requisite amount of damages); PhotoThera, Inc. v. Own, No. 07CV490, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 89053, *19-23 & n.4 (S.D. Cal. Dec. 4, 2007) (dismissing claims where jurisdictional minimum allegations unsupported by any factual allegations). Defendant must respond, in writing, by September 1, 2023, with evidence or specific allegations that the amount-in-controversy requirement is met. sya | Dated: July 31, 2023 - | ae Lo J. HON. WESLEYC. HSU UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE