Diego Diaz v. General Motors LLC, a Delaware Limited Liability Company, and DOES 1 through 10, inclusive

Summary

The United States District Court for the Central District of California denied Diego Diaz’s motion to remand his Song-Beverly Act and Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act action against General Motors LLC. The court held that the complaint did not make removability apparent on its face, so the defendant’s removal was not untimely. The court further found that the defendant established by a preponderance of the evidence that the amount in controversy exceeded the applicable jurisdictional thresholds.

Holdings

1. Removal was timely because the complaint did not clearly show on its face that the amount in controversy exceeded $50,000 or $75,000, and the later-produced sales agreement was the first paper from which removability could be ascertained.
2. General Motors established by a preponderance of the evidence that the amount in controversy exceeded both the $50,000 Magnuson-Moss threshold and the $75,000 diversity-jurisdiction threshold.

Questions Presented

1. Whether General Motors timely removed the action under 28 U.S.C. § 1446 when the complaint did not make the amount in controversy clearly ascertainable, but a later-produced sales agreement did.
2. Whether General Motors established by a preponderance of the evidence that the amount in controversy exceeded the $50,000 Magnuson-Moss threshold and the $75,000 diversity-jurisdiction threshold.

Disposition

denied