Helen Targan v. Nissan North America, Inc.

MEMORANDUM

Helen Taragan, Frances Jeanette Taylor, and Charles Taylor (“Appellants”) appeal the district court’s dismissal of their complaint without leave to amend. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm in part, reverse in part and remand with leave to amend.

The district court properly construed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 114 (“FMVSS 114”) because the regulation’s language is plain and unambiguous. Wards Cove Packing Corp. v. Nat’l Marine Fisheries Serv., 307 F.3d 1214, 1219 (9th Cir.2002) (“[T]he plain meaning of a regulation governs[.]”). Based on the plain language of FMVSS 114, the district court correctly determined that Appellants had failed to state a cognizable claim for relief and properly dismissed these claims with prejudice.

Appellants argue that the district court erred when it dismissed their entire complaint because they asserted claims for relief that were not based on a violation of FMVSS 114. Nissan North America, Inc., and Nissan Motor Company, Ltd., counter that Appellants’ argument should be rejected because Appellants failed to ask the district court for leave to amend.…