CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

CIVIL MINUTES - GENERAL

9/19/2019 Case No. 2:19-cv-06082-SVW-JC Date

Jessica Summa v. LF Sportswear Inc Title

Present: The Honorable STEPHEN V. WILSON, U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE

Paul M. Cruz N/A

Deputy Clerk Court Reporter / Recorder

Attorneys Present for Plaintiffs: Attorneys Present for Defendants:

N/A N/A

Proceedings: ORDER STAYING RESOLUTION OF PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO

REMAND [10] AND AUTHORIZING JURISDICTIONAL DISCOVERY

Upon review of the materials submitted by both parties, the Court stays resolution of the Motion to Remand pending jurisdictional discovery relevant to the issue of whether the “local controversy” exception to Class Action Fairness Act (“CAFA”) jurisdiction applies to this putative class action. 28 U.S.C. § 1332(d)(4)(A).

The Court finds instructive the district court procedure for jurisdictional discovery reviewed by the Ninth Circuit in King v. Great Am. Chicken Corp., Inc., 903 F.3d 875, 877 (9th Cir. 2018). As Plaintiff notes, Defendant’s access to employment records for current and former employees place it in a superior position to present this information to the Court. Dkt. 10, pg. 15. Accordingly, the Court instructs the Parties to commence jurisdictional discovery, including “names, last-known addresses, telephone numbers, and email addresses for all putative class members, as well as information regarding the percentage of the putative class members whose last-known address was in California.” King, at 877. See also Serrano v. Bay Bread LLC, 2014 WL 1813300, at *2 (May 6, 2014). The Court makes this decision while recognizing that the burden of demonstrating an exception to CAFA jurisdiction still rests with the Plaintiff. Mondragon v. Capital One Auto Finance, 736 F.3d 880, 883 (9th Cir. 2013). It also notes that King makes clear that sufficient evidence to establish applicability of the local controversy exception at this stage will require more substantial evidence than a simple two-thirds majority of class members being California residents, given the possibility that some

:

CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

CIVIL MINUTES - GENERAL

9/19/2019 Case No. 2:19-cv-06082-SVW-JC Date

Jessica Summa v. LF Sportswear Inc Title

class members may be permanent residents rather than citizens, and that some California residents may not be citizens of the state. Id. at 878-880. The Motion to Remand is STAYED pending relevant jurisdictional discovery on this issue. Plaintiffs have 60 days from the date of this order to re-brief the Motion to Remand specifically regarding the CAFA local controversy exception, in fifteen pages or less.

: