Scott

I. BACKGROUND

20 A. Factual History 21 The following discussion of background facts is based on the allegations contained in the 22 complaint. See Dkt. 1, Ex. A (the “Complaint”). In 2017, Plaintiff operated two “cannabis 23 testing” laboratories in Salinas, California. See id. ¶¶ 10, 12. In 2018, he purchased three 24 “instruments” for the laboratories from Defendant: (1) the QSight 220; (2) the Flexar-HPLC; and 25 (3) the NexION-ICP/MS. See id. ¶¶ 11, 86, 97, 110. In purchasing the instruments, Plaintiff 26 relied on representations by Defendant about the instruments’ functionality and capabilities. See 27 id. ¶¶ 65, 86. Plaintiff subsequently encountered issues with the instruments such that they did not conform to Defendant’s representations. See id. ¶¶ 73-75. He then commenced this action in the Superior Court for the County of Monterey on March 11, 2024, to recover from Defendant for its alleged misrepresentations in connection with its sale of the instruments. See id. ¶¶ 76-140. Defendant later removed the action to this Court. See Dkt. 1. B. Relevant Procedural History Upon initial review of the briefing, the Court…