Pesticides v. DR Pepper Snapple Grp., Inc.

322 F. Supp. 3d 119
CourtCourt of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
DecidedAugust 21, 2018
DocketCase No. 17-cv-1431-RCL
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 322 F. Supp. 3d 119 (Pesticides v. DR Pepper Snapple Grp., Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Pesticides v. DR Pepper Snapple Grp., Inc., 322 F. Supp. 3d 119 (D.C. Cir. 2018).

Opinion

Royce C. Lamberth, United States District Judge

This matter comes before the Court on plaintiff's Motion to Remand [ECF No. 15]. Upon consideration of this motion and the defendants' opposition, the Court will DENY plaintiff's motion. Additionally, defendants' Unopposed Motion to File the Confidential Declaration of Kelly Stephenson Under Seal [ECF No. 17] is GRANTED .

I. Background

Plaintiff originally filed this action in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, on behalf of itself and the interests of the general public, seeking injunctive and equitable *121relief under the District of Columbia Consumer Protection Procedures Act ("CCPA"), D.C. Code §§ 28-3901, et seq. The CCPA, among other things, makes it unlawful to make misrepresentations and omissions in connection with the sale of consumer goods or services. See id. § 28-3904. Here, plaintiff alleges that Mott's LLP ("Mott's"), a subsidiary of Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. (collectively, "defendants"), employed deceptive labeling and marketing practices in selling its applesauce products. Plaintiff requests an order "directing Defendants to disgorge the profits obtained from each sale of the [applesauce] Products in the District of Columbia" and establishing a community fund "for the benefit of the general public" into which Mott's is to pay "all monies which it has been required to disgorge." Compl. at 23. Additionally, plaintiff seeks declaratory relief, an injunction, and an award of costs and attorneys' fees. Id.

The case reached this Court when defendants removed the case under 28 U.S.C. § 1441, invoking this Court's diversity jurisdiction. 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a). Plaintiff now moves to remand the case back to Superior Court. Plaintiff does not argue that defendants failed to follow the proper procedure for removal or that the parties are not completely diverse. Plaintiff argues only that defendants failed to carry their burden establishing the requisite amount in controversy.

II. Analysis

A. Standard of Review

Civil actions filed in state court may be removed to a United States district court by the defendant so long as the case could have originally been filed in federal court. 28 U.S.C. § 1441(a) (2012). However, "[i]f at any time before final judgment it appears that the district court lacks subject matter jurisdiction, the case shall be remanded." Id. § 1447(c). A challenge to subject matter jurisdiction may be raised on a motion to remand by the parties. Id. A "party opposing a motion to remand bears the burden of establishing that subject matter jurisdiction exists in federal court." Int'l Union of Bricklayers & Allied Craftworkers v. Ins. Co. of the W. , 366 F.Supp.2d 33, 36 (D.D.C. 2005) (citation omitted). Courts are to construe the removal statute narrowly in order to avoid federalism concerns, Shamrock Oil & Gas Corp. v. Sheets , 313 U.S. 100, 108, 61 S.Ct. 868, 85 L.Ed. 1214 (1941), and any doubts about the existence of subject matter jurisdiction are to be resolved in favor of remand. Nat'l Consumers League v. Flowers Bakeries, LLC , 36 F.Supp.3d 26, 30 (D.D.C. 2014).

B. The Present Case is Properly Removable

At issue here is whether this case satisfies the amount-in-controversy component of federal diversity jurisdiction, which requires that "the matter in controversy exceed[ ] the sum or value of $75,000." 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a). "[A] defendant's notice of removal need include only a plausible allegation that the amount in controversy exceeds the jurisdictional threshold." Dart Cherokee Basin Operating Co., LLC v. Owens , --- U.S. ----, 135 S.Ct. 547, 554, 190 L.Ed.2d 495 (2014). And evidence establishing the amount in controversy is required "only when the plaintiff contests, or the court questions, the defendant's allegation." Id. Here, the plaintiff does in fact contest defendants' allegation related to the amount in controversy, but defendants meet their burden of demonstrating, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000. See 28 § 1446(c)(2)(B).

Normally, "the separate and distinct claims of two or more plaintiffs cannot be aggregated in order to satisfy the *122jurisdictional amount requirement." Snyder v. Harris , 394 U.S. 332, 335, 89 S.Ct. 1053,

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Bluebook (online)
322 F. Supp. 3d 119, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pesticides-v-dr-pepper-snapple-grp-inc-cadc-2018.