Yolanda Rivera v. General Motors LLC et al.

Summary

The United States District Court for the Central District of California remanded Yolanda Rivera’s Song-Beverly Warranty Act action against General Motors LLC for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The court held that GM did not establish by a preponderance of the evidence that the amount in controversy exceeded $75,000 because its proposed civil penalties and attorneys’ fees were speculative or unsupported. The court denied Rivera’s motion to remand as moot, vacated all dates, and ordered the case closed.

Holdings

1. GM failed to establish by sufficient evidence that the amount in controversy exceeded $75,000. Without the speculative civil penalties and unsupported attorney fees, the amount in controversy was only $51,596.72, requiring remand.
2. GM could not include the potential civil penalties in the amount in controversy because it failed to establish that their inclusion was appropriate; the possibility of a civil penalty was too speculative on the record.
3. GM failed to establish that projected attorney fees could properly be included in the amount in controversy because it did not specify the fees or cite authority supporting its estimate.

Questions Presented

1. Whether GM established that the amount in controversy exceeded $75,000, as required for diversity jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a).
2. Whether potential Song-Beverly civil penalties could be included in the amount in controversy based on the allegations and evidence presented.
3. Whether projected attorney fees could be included in the amount in controversy based on GM's asserted experience with plaintiff's counsel.

Disposition

remanded