Derrick Rathbone et al. v. Ford Motor Co.

I. INTRODUCTION

On December 26, 2024, Derrick and Rebecca Rathbone (“Plaintiffs”) filed a Complaint against Ford Motor Company (“Defendant”) in Riverside County Superior Court alleging violations of the Song-Beverly Act. (ECF No. 2-1.) Thereafter, on January 30, 2025, Defendant removed the case based on diversity jurisdiction. See Rathbone et al. v. Ford Motor Co., No. 25-cv-00268 (C.D. Cal. 2025). On February 20, 2025, this Court issued an Order to Show Cause that the amount in controversy was satisfied for purposes of diversity jurisdiction. After Defendant filed its Response to the Order to Show Cause, this Court remanded the case upon finding that the amount in controversy had not been sufficiently established, explaining that Defendant’s calculation of the amount in controversy was speculative. After the case was remanded, on August 1, 2025, Plaintiffs served a statutory Offer to Compromise pursuant to Cal. Civ. Proc. Code § 998, demanding $118,000 from Defendant in exchange for Plaintiffs releasing their claims (the “§ 998 Offer”). On August 7, 2025, Defendant filed the instant Notice of Removal based on the § 998 Offer. Presently before the Court is Plaintiffs’ Motion…