Martha P. Ramirez-Martinez v. Nissan North America, Inc.

Summary

The United States District Court for the Central District of California granted Plaintiff Martha P. Ramirez-Martinez’s motion to remand her Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act action against Nissan North America, Inc. The court held that Nissan’s removal nearly one year after the state-court complaint was untimely because documents produced on September 20, 2024 made the parties’ diversity and the amount in controversy unequivocally clear. The action was remanded to the Los Angeles County Superior Court.

Holdings

1. The thirty-day removal period under 28 U.S.C. § 1446(b)(3) may be triggered when a later-received paper, considered together with information in the complaint or previously received documents, makes removability unequivocally clear and certain; the necessary information need not appear in one singular document.
2. By September 20, 2024, Defendant could ascertain that Plaintiff was a California citizen and that her citizenship differed from Nissan's citizenship.
3. The complaint and documents received on September 20, 2024 made it possible to reasonably calculate actual damages and the requested civil penalty, yielding an amount in controversy of approximately $85,440.45 and exceeding the jurisdictional threshold.
4. Defendant's removal was untimely because the thirty-day period under § 1446(b)(3) began no later than September 20, 2024, when Defendant received documents that made removability ascertainable.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Defendant's May 27, 2025 removal was timely under the thirty-day period applicable when removability becomes ascertainable from a later-received pleading, motion, order, or other paper.
2. Whether removability could be ascertained cumulatively from the complaint and multiple later-produced documents, rather than from a single document alone.
3. Whether the September 20, 2024 production of the retail installment sale contract, repair orders, and California registration made complete diversity and an amount in controversy exceeding $75,000 unequivocally clear and certain.

Disposition

remanded