Stephen M. Farmer v. Foot Locker Retail, Inc. et al.

Summary

The United States District Court for the Central District of California denied Plaintiff Stephen M. Farmer’s motion to remand his action against Foot Locker Retail, Inc. to Los Angeles Superior Court. The court held that the fictitious defendant identified as “Employee Sam” could not defeat diversity jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1441(b), because the defendant’s full identity and pertinent identifying information had not been provided in the operative complaint. The court therefore deferred consideration of the citizenship of the later-identified individual until he was properly substituted as a party.

Holdings

1. The citizenship of a defendant sued under a fictitious name must be disregarded when determining whether an action is removable on the basis of diversity jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1441(b).
2. A first name, physical description, workplace information, and alleged involvement in the incident were insufficient to convert Employee Sam from a fictitious defendant into an identified party for purposes of the remand motion.

Questions Presented

1. Whether a defendant identified only by the fictitious designation Employee Sam must be considered for purposes of determining complete diversity and removal jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1441(b).
2. Whether the information provided about Employee Sam was sufficient to treat him as an actual, rather than fictitious, defendant for diversity-jurisdiction purposes.

Disposition

other