Alejandro Arzola v. AT and T Mobility Services LLC

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

ALEJANDRO ARZOLA, CV 19-7578 DSF (SSx) Plaintiff, Order GRANTING Leave to

V. Amend and REMANDING Case

to State Court

AT&T MOBILITY SERVICES

LLC, et al., Defendants.

Defendant AT&T Mobility Services, LLC removed this case from state court on the basis of diversity despite the presence of potentially non-diverse defendant Betty Gonzalez. Gonzalez was alleged to have been a supervisor with AT&T who harassed Plaintiff because of his disability. AT&T claimed not to have an employee by the name of Betty Gonzalez and further argued that she would be a sham defendant in any case. In response to a motion to dismiss, Plaintiff Alejandro Arzola purported to file an amended complaint as of right under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15(a)(1). The amended complaint corrects the name of the individual defendant to Betty Gomez and adds somewhat more detail to the harassment claim against her. AT&T argues that “post-removal amendments are not allowed to defeat jurisdiction previously acquired at the time of removal.” This is incorrect. Whether a district court should allow the addition of a…