Raul Duenas v. FCA US LLC

I. Background

FCA US LLC (“FCA”) removed this action to this Court on February 10, 2021, asserting this Court’s subject matter jurisdiction based upon complete diversity pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a)(1). At the time of removal, FCA was the only named defendant, and the Complaint contained only statutory claims for violation of various subsections of California Civil Code §§ 1791.1, 1791.2, 1793.2, and 1794, including claims for breach of express warranty and breach of the implied warranty of merchantability, all involving a vehicle FCA allegedly manufactured and/or distributed. On February 21, 2020, one day after FCA filed its Answer, see Docket No. 8, plaintiff Raul Duenas (“Plaintiff”) filed – pursuant to his right to do sue under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15(a)(1)(B) – a “First Amended Complaint for Violation of Statutory Obligations” (“FAC”), see Docket No. 11, adding Cerritos Dodge, Inc. dba Cerritos Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram (“Cerritos”) as a defendant, and adding a single claim for “negligent repair” (making the full title of the FAC a misnomer) pled only against Cerritos. Plaintiff now moves to remand, arguing both that FCA did not satisfactorily…