Tim McVay v. Target; Target Corporation; and Does 1 to 100, inclusive

Summary

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of California denied Tim McVay’s motion to remand a premises-liability action against Target Corporation and his application for leave to file an amended complaint. The court held that fictitious Doe defendants’ citizenship should be disregarded because the complaint did not identify them with sufficient detail, and it found that diversity jurisdiction and the amount-in-controversy requirement were satisfied. The court also denied the prospective amendment request because Plaintiff had not identified any individual to be added.

Holdings

1. The citizenship of the Doe defendants was disregarded because federal law requires the citizenship of defendants sued under fictitious names to be disregarded, and Plaintiff's allegations did not provide sufficient detail to give a definitive clue to their identities.
2. The amount in controversy exceeded the $75,000 jurisdictional threshold because Plaintiff's state-court statement of damages alleged $5,000,000 in damages.
3. Leave to amend was denied because Plaintiff had not identified any individual whom he sought to add and his application did not explain why amendment should be permitted at that juncture.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the citizenship of the unidentified Doe defendants defeated complete diversity for purposes of removal.
2. Whether the amount in controversy exceeded $75,000 and supported diversity jurisdiction.
3. Whether Plaintiff should be granted leave to file a prospective amended complaint to substitute the names of Doe defendants.

Disposition

other