Brenda J. GAMBLE, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. GENERAL FOODS CORPORATION, Defendant-Appellee

We consider whether under Bryant v. Ford Motor Co., 844 F.2d 602 (9th Cir.1988) (en banc), the federal courts have jurisdiction to hear this case.

Facts

After being terminated from her position as Accounting Clerk at General Foods in 1984, Brenda Gamble filed a Title VII action in federal court, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq. (1982) (Gamble I). Judgment for defendant was entered after a bench trial on the Title VII claim; there was no appeal.

Following the bench trial but before judgment, Gamble filed this action for wrongful termination in California Superior Court, naming as defendants General Foods and Does 1 through 100 (Gamble II). General Foods removed the action to federal court based on diversity of citizenship, 28 U.S.C. § 1332 (1982 & Supp. Ill 1986), and successfully moved for summary judgment on the ground that the suit was barred by the res judicata effect of the judgment in Gamble I. Plaintiff appealed and, on November 16,1987, we affirmed by unpublished Memorandum, 833 F.2d 1016 . Gamble petitioned for rehearing in light of Bryant , which had been issued ten days before our decision in Gamble II.

Discussion

At the time this case was removed from state court, the Doe…