Karen Barnes v. Costco Wholesale Corporation

I.

BACKGROUND

Plaintiff Karen Barnes parked her car at a gas station owned by Defendant Costco Wholesale Corporation on April 18, 2017. Complaint [Doc. # 1-1] at ¶ 10. She alleges in her Complaint that, as she got out of her car and walked towards her car’s fuel tank, she slipped on a pool of gasoline “that could not be seen by the naked eye” and fell. Id. A man came to help Plaintiff and “informed a Costco employee of the incident.” Id. The employee told Plaintiff that “prior to the incident, [he] had been informed of the spilled gasoline but had no time to get it cleaned up.” Id. Plaintiff claims that she “suffered serious injuries and damages” as a result of her fall. Id.

She filed this suit on April 19, 2019 in Ventura County Superior Court against Costco and the employee, whom she identified as a “Doe Employee.” See id. The Complaint alleges that, while Costco is a corporate citizen of Washington, both she and the Doe Employee are “residents of this judicial district.”1 Id. at ¶¶ 1-3.

Costco removed the action to this Court on September 13, 2019. Notice of Removal [Doc. # 1]. The Notice of Removal claims that the Court has diversity jurisdiction over the…