Meza v. Lowe's Home Centers, LLC

Filing 15

ORDER by Judge Lucy H. Koh denying 6 Motion to Remand (lhklc3, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 9/16/2015)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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SAN JOSE DIVISION

United States District Court
Northern District of California

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Case No. 15-CV-02320-LHK

JOVITA MEZA,
Plaintiff,

ORDER DENYING MOTION TO
REMAND

v.
LOWE’S HOME CENTERS, LLC,

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Defendant.

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Plaintiff Jovita Meza (“Plaintiff”) brought a personal injury action against defendant

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Lowe’s Home Centers, LLC (“Defendant”) in Santa Clara County Superior Court. ECF No. 1 Ex.

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A (“Compl.”). Defendant removed the case to federal court. ECF No. 1 (“Removal Notice”).

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Before the Court is Plaintiff’s motion to remand this case to Santa Clara County Superior Court.

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ECF No. 6.

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Pursuant to Civil Local Rule 7-1(b), the Court finds this matter appropriate for resolution

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without oral argument. Accordingly, the hearing on the motion to remand set for September 24,

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2015, at 1:30 p.m. is hereby VACATED. The initial case management conference set for that date

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and time remains as set. Having considered the submissions of the parties, the relevant law, and

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the record in this case, the Court DENIES Plaintiff’s motion to remand.

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Case No. 15-CV-02320-LHK
ORDER DENYING MOTION TO REMAND

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I.

BACKGROUND
A. Factual Background
On or around July 11, 2014, Plaintiff alleges she was shopping at the Lowe’s home

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improvement store located at 5550 Cottle Drive in San Jose, California. Compl. ¶¶ 1, 3. While

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perusing one of the store’s aisles during normal business hours, Plaintiff says some cement blocks

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fell onto her foot. Id. ¶ 3. According to Plaintiff, the impact from the cement blocks, which

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weighed about fifty pounds, crushed the arch in her foot. Id. ¶ 4.

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As a result, Plaintiff alleges, she underwent reconstructive surgery requiring the insertion
of three five-inch pins through her toes and into her foot. Compl. ¶ 5. Plaintiff claims she was
bedridden for over a month. Id. According to Plaintiff, her medical bills for surgeries, follow-up

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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visits, and physical therapy will exceed $150,000. Id. Plaintiff also seeks $10,000 in lost wages

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and at least $350,000 in general damages for pain and suffering. Id.

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B. Procedural History

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Plaintiff filed her personal injury lawsuit in Santa Clara County Superior Court on April

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15, 2015. See Compl. Plaintiff’s complaint asserts three state law causes of action: (1) premises

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liability; (2) negligence; and (3) failure to warn. Id. ¶¶ 1-12. The summons and complaint were

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served on Defendant on April 22, 2015. Removal Notice ¶ 2. Defendant answered on May 15,

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2015. ECF No. 1 Ex. B (“Answer”). Defendant’s answer was served on Plaintiff on May 18,

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2015. Id. at 6.

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On May 22, 2015, Defendant removed this case to federal court. See Removal Notice.

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The sole asserted basis for this Court’s subject matter jurisdiction was diversity of citizenship. Id.

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¶¶ 5-9.

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On June 12, 2015—three weeks after the case was removed—Plaintiff filed an amended

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complaint in Santa Clara County Superior Court. The amended complaint purported to add as

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defendants two employees from the Lowe’s home improvement store in San Jose.

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On June 24, 2015, Plaintiff filed the instant motion to remand. ECF No. 6 (“Mot.”).
Defendant opposed the motion on July 8, 2015. ECF No. 12 (“Opp.”). Plaintiff did not file a
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Case No. 15-CV-02320-LHK
ORDER DENYING MOTION TO REMAND

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reply.

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II.

LEGAL STANDARD
A suit may be removed from state court to federal court only if the federal court would

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have had subject matter jurisdiction over the case in the first instance. 28 U.S.C. § 1441(a); see

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Caterpillar Inc. v. Williams, 482 U.S. 386, 392 (1987) (“Only state-court actions that originally

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could have been filed in federal court may be removed to federal court by the defendant.”). “In

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civil cases, subject matter jurisdiction is generally conferred upon federal district courts either

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through diversity jurisdiction, 28 U.S.C. § 1332, or federal question jurisdiction, 28 U.S.C.

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§ 1331.” Peralta v. Hispanic Bus., Inc., 419 F.3d 1064, 1068 (9th Cir. 2005). Where, as here,
subject matter jurisdiction is premised on diversity of citizenship, “28 U.S.C. § 1332 requires that

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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the parties be in complete diversity and the amount in controversy exceed $75,000.” Matheson v.

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Progressive Specialty Ins. Co., 319 F.3d 1089, 1090 (9th Cir. 2003) (per curiam).
The party seeking removal bears the burden of establishing federal jurisdiction. Provincial

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Gov’t of Marinduque v. Placer Dome, Inc., 582 F.3d 1083, 1087 (9th Cir. 2009). “The removal

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statute is strictly construed, and any doubt about the right of removal requires resolution in favor

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of remand.” Moore-Thomas v. Alaska Airlines, Inc., 553 F.3d 1241, 1244 (9th Cir. 2009) (citing

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Gaus v. Miles, Inc., 980 F.2d 564, 566 (9th Cir. 1992) (per curiam)). If it appears at any time

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before final judgment that the federal court lacks subject matter jurisdiction, the federal court must

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remand the action to state court. 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c).

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III.

DISCUSSION

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Plaintiff argues that remand is proper for three reasons. First, Plaintiff contends that

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Defendant has “not addressed” the location of its “nerve center” for purposes of determining

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Defendant’s citizenship. Mot. at 2-3. Second, Plaintiff claims that Defendant has failed to

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establish the amount-in-controversy requirement because “the amount in damages is speculative”

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in this case. Id. at 3. Third, Plaintiff says she amended her complaint to add non-diverse

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defendants who destroy this Court’s subject matter jurisdiction. Id. at 3-5. For the reasons stated

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below, none of these reasons persuades the Court.

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Case No. 15-CV-02320-LHK
ORDER DENYING MOTION TO REMAND

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A. Complete Diversity
Defendant has established that the parties to this action are completely diverse for purposes

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of 28 U.S.C. § 1332. See Removal Notice ¶¶ 5-7. There is no dispute that Plaintiff is a resident

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and citizen of California. Id. ¶ 6; Compl. ¶ 1. Defendant, on the other hand, is a limited liability

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company (“LLC”). Removal Notice ¶ 7. It is well settled that “an LLC is a citizen of every state

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of which its owners/members are citizens.” Johnson v. Columbia Properties Anchorage, LP, 437

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F.3d 894, 899 (9th Cir. 2006). Contrary to Plaintiff’s suggestion, see Mot. at 2-3, Defendant need

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not establish the location of its “nerve center” because Defendant is an LLC, not a corporation.

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See Johnson, 437 F.3d at 899 (explaining the difference between LLCs and corporations for

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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purposes of determining citizenship under 28 U.S.C. § 1332).
Defendant is a manager-managed LLC with its only member being Lowe’s Companies,

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Inc. Removal Notice ¶ 7. Lowe’s Companies, Inc., in turn, is a North Carolina corporation with

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its principal place of business in North Carolina. Id. Accordingly, Defendant is a citizen of North

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Carolina for purposes of diversity jurisdiction. See Johnson, 437 F.3d at 899; see also Calderon v.

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Lowe’s Home Centers, LLC, No. 2:15-CV-01140-ODW, 2015 WL 3889289, at *2 (C.D. Cal. June

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24, 2015) (finding that “Defendant Lowe’s Home Centers LLC . . . [is a] citizen[] of North

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Carolina); Anaya v. Lowe’s Home Centers, LLC, No. 14-CV-1260 L(BGS), 2014 WL 2199878, at

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*2 (S.D. Cal. May 27, 2014) (finding that Defendant is a citizen of North Carolina).

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As Plaintiff is a citizen of California, and Defendant is a citizen of North Carolina, the
complete diversity requirement is satisfied.
B. Amount in Controversy
The amount-in-controversy requirement is also satisfied here. As indicated above,

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Plaintiff’s complaint states that she is seeking $150,000 in past and future medical expenses,

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$10,000 in lost earnings, and $350,000 in general damages for pain and suffering. Compl. ¶ 5.

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Plaintiff’s allegations total $510,000, which far exceeds the $75,000 amount-in-controversy

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requirement. See, e.g., JBR, Inc. v. Cafe Don Paco, Inc., No. 12-CV-02377 NC, 2013 WL

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1891386, at *3 (N.D. Cal. May 6, 2013) (finding the amount-in-controversy requirement satisfied

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Case No. 15-CV-02320-LHK
ORDER DENYING MOTION TO REMAND

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where the plaintiff’s complaint alleged “$281,594.93 in damages plus interest, $500,000 in

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consequential damages, attorneys’ fees, and costs under each of its substantive claims”).

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C. Amendment

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As indicated previously, Plaintiff filed an amended complaint in Santa Clara County

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Superior Court on June 12, 2015—three weeks after the case was removed. Mot. at 4. The

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amended complaint purported to add as defendants two employees from the Lowe’s home

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improvement store in San Jose: Paco Mendoza and Manny Romero. Opp. at 6.
Plaintiff’s amendment, however, was improper and therefore does not destroy diversity

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jurisdiction here. To determine the propriety of Plaintiff’s amendment, the Court looks to Rule

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15(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure because “after removal, the federal court takes the

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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case up where the State court left it off.” Jenkins v. Commonwealth Land Title Ins. Co., 95 F.3d

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791, 795 (9th Cir. 1996) (brackets and internal quotation marks omitted); see also Butner v.

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Neustadter, 324 F.2d 783, 785 n.7 (9th Cir. 1963) (“[W]hen a case is removed the federal court

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takes it as though everything done in the state court had in fact been done in the federal court.”

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(internal quotation marks omitted)).

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Under Rule 15(a)(1), Plaintiff was permitted to amend her complaint “as a Matter of

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Course” only if she did so within “21 days after serving [the complaint]” or “21 days after service

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of a responsive pleading.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a)(1). Plaintiff did neither. Specifically, Plaintiff’s

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June 12, 2015 amendment occurred fifty-one days after Plaintiff served her original complaint on

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defendant (April 22, 2015) and twenty-five days after Defendant served its answer on Plaintiff

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(May 18, 2015). Removal Notice ¶ 2; Answer at 6. Plaintiff’s amendment was therefore untimely

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under Rule 15(a)(1).

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Furthermore, Plaintiff did not seek leave of court or obtain Defendant’s consent before

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filing her amended complaint. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a)(2). Plaintiff, thus, cannot rely on Rule

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15(a)(2) to justify her amendment.

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Accordingly, as Plaintiff’s amendment was untimely under Rule 15(a)(1), and Plaintiff did
not seek leave of court or obtain Defendant’s consent under Rule 15(a)(2), Plaintiff’s “amended
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Case No. 15-CV-02320-LHK
ORDER DENYING MOTION TO REMAND

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complaint is a nullity and is struck.” Calderon, 2015 WL 3889289, at *3; see also Johnson v.

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Wash. Mut., No. 1:09-CV-929 AWI DLB, 2009 WL 2997661, at *1 (E.D. Cal. Sept. 16, 2009) (“If

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an amended pleading cannot be made as of right and is filed without leave of court or consent of

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the opposing party, the amended pleading is a nullity and without legal effect.”).1

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IV.

CONCLUSION

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For the foregoing reasons, the Court hereby DENIES Plaintiff’s motion to remand. The

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initial case management conference scheduled for September 24, 2015, at 1:30 p.m. remains as

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set.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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Dated: September 16, 2015
______________________________________
LUCY H. KOH
United States District Judge

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Plaintiff’s citation to Vreeland v. Target Corp., No. C 09-5673 MEJ, 2010 WL 545840, at
*3 (N.D. Cal. Feb. 11, 2010), is unpersuasive because the plaintiff there “amended his complaint
within 21 days after Defendant filed its answer” such that “the amendment was proper under Rule
15(a).”
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Case No. 15-CV-02320-LHK
ORDER DENYING MOTION TO REMAND