Kenyon Terrell v. Morgan Truck Body, LLC

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

KENYON TERRELL, Case No. 5:24-cv-00824-SB-DTB Plaintiff, v.

ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO

MORGAN TRUCK BODY, LLC et al., REMAND [DKT. NO. 16] Defendants.

Plaintiff Kenyon Terrell filed this employment discrimination action against Defendants Morgan Truck Body, LLC (Morgan), Mike Avila, and John B. Poindexter. Morgan removed, asserting diversity jurisdiction. Despite the fact that both Plaintiff and Avila are California citizens, Morgan claimed that Avila’s citizenship must be disregarded because he was not properly served at the time of removal. After the Court questioned jurisdiction in an order to show cause, Morgan for the first time asserted that Avila is an improperly joined sham defendant. Plaintiff now moves to remand. The Court finds this matter suitable for decision without oral argument and vacates the June 7, 2024 motion hearing. Fed. R. Civ. P. 78; L.R. 7-15. Because there is not complete diversity of citizenship, the Court remands this matter for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. I. Federal courts have subject-matter jurisdiction only over matters authorized by the U.S.…