JD BROTHERS LLC v. Liberty Asset Management Corporation et al

Filing 143

Order by Hon. Vince Chhabria denying 118 Motion to Dismiss Cross-Claims. (vclc2S, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 10/24/2016)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

JD BROTHERS LLC, et al.,

Case No. 15-cv-01373-VC

Plaintiffs,
ORDER DENYING MOTION TO
DISMISS CROSS-CLAIMS

v.
LIBERTY ASSET MANAGEMENT
CORPORATION, et al.,

Re: Dkt. No. 118

Defendants.

The Court has subject matter jurisdiction because the cross-claims relate to the same
"transaction or occurrence" as the original action – the purchase and sale of 166 Geary Street,
San Francisco, CA – and the cross-claims were brought against a coparty. Fed. R. Civ. P. 13(g);
see Third Am. Compl. ¶¶ 8-9, 98, 106; Cross-Claim ¶¶ 15-18, 36-46. The cross-claims and the
complaint's claims share a "common nucleus of operative fact" such that they "would normally
be tried together." Bahrampour v. Lampert, 356 F.3d 969, 978 (9th Cir. 2004).
The cross-claimants have standing because they clearly allege an ownership interest in
HK Grace. Cross-Claim ¶¶ 13, 21, 28, 32-33, 37. And for similar reasons, the assertions by the
cross-defendants regarding the ownership status of HK Grace cannot, at the pleading stage,
defeat the cross-claims.
Accordingly, the motion to dismiss the cross-claims is denied.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: October 24, 2016
______________________________________
VINCE CHHABRIA
United States District Judge