DISCUSSION

The court’s review of the NOR and the attached Complaint makes clear that this court does not have subject matter jurisdiction over the instant matter. In other words, plaintiff could not have originally brought this action in federal court, as plaintiff does not competently allege facts supplying diversity jurisdiction.3 Therefore, removal was improper. See 28 U.S.C. § 1441(a); Caterpillar Inc. v. Williams, 482 U.S. 386, 392, 107 S.Ct. 2425, 2429 (1987) (“Only state-court actions that originally could have been filed in federal court may be removed to federal court by the defendant.”) (footnote omitted). When federal subject matter jurisdiction is predicated on diversity of citizenship, complete diversity must exist between the opposing parties, and the amount in controversy must exceed $75,000. See 28 U.S.C. § 1332 4; Caterpillar Inc. v. Lewis, 519 U.S. 61, 68, 117 S.Ct. 467, 472 (1996) (stating that the diversity jurisdiction statute “applies only to cases in which the citizenship of each plaintiff is diverse from the citizenship of each defendant”). Defendant bears the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that the amount in controversy meets the jurisdictional threshold. See Valdez v. Allstate Ins. Co., 372 F.3d 1115, 1117 (9th Cir. 2004); Matheson v. Progressive Specialty Ins. Co., 319 F.3d 1089, 1090 (9th Cir. 2003) (per curiam) (“Where it is not facially evident from the complaint that more than $75,000 is in controversy, the removing party must prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the amount in controversy meets the jurisdictional threshold. Where doubt regarding the right to removal exists, a case should be remanded to state court.”) (footnotes omitted). Here, there is no basis for diversity jurisdiction because defendant has failed to show that the parties are diverse and that the amount in controversy exceeds the diversity jurisdiction 2 An “antiremoval presumption” does not exist in cases removed pursuant to the Class Action Fairness Act (“CAFA”), 28 U.S.C. § 1332(d). See Dart Cherokee Basin Operating Co., LLC v. Owens, 574 U.S. 81, 89, 135 S.Ct. 547, 554 (2014). 3 Defendant seeks only to invoke the court’s diversity jurisdiction. (See, generally, Dkt. 1,

NOR).

4 In relevant part, 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a) provides that a district court has diversity jurisdiction

CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

CIVIL MINUTES - GENERAL

Case No. CV 20-9317 FMO (GJSx) Date October 23, 2020 Title Reginald Smith v. Coca-Cola Bottling Company United, Inc. threshold of $75,000. (See, generally, Dkt. 1, NOR). With respect to diversity of citizenship, defendant does not set forth the citizenship of either party. (See, generally, id. at ¶ 3). With respect to the amount in controversy, the amount of damages plaintiff seeks cannot be determined from the Complaint, as the Complaint does not set forth a specific amount, (see, generally, Dkt. 1, Exh. A, Complaint), and defendant does not point to any such claim or request for relief. (See, generally, NOR). Indeed, defendant does not even attempt to show that the amount in controversy exceeds the jurisdictional threshold, and appears instead to rely solely on plaintiff’s claims as proof, ipso facto, that the amount plaintiff seeks would meet the amount in controversy requirement. (See id. at ¶ 3). In other words, defendant did not satisfy its burden of setting forth facts supporting its assertion that the amount in controversy exceeds the jurisdictional threshold. See 28 U.S.C. 1332(a); Gaus, 980 F.2d at 567 (remanding for lack of diversity jurisdiction where defendant “offered no facts whatsoever. . . . [to] overcome[ ] the strong presumption against removal jurisdiction, [and did not] satisf[y] [defendant’s] burden of setting forth . . . the underlying facts supporting its assertion that the amount in controversy exceeds [$75,000].”) (internal quotation marks omitted) (emphasis in original). In sum, given that any doubt regarding the existence of subject matter jurisdiction must be resolved in favor of remanding the action, see Gaus, 980 F.2d at 566, the court is not persuaded, under the circumstances here, that defendant has met its burden of showing that the parties are diverse and of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that the amount in controversy meets the jurisdictional threshold. See Matheson, 319 F.3d at 1090 (“Where it is not facially evident from the complaint that more than $75,000 is in controversy, the removing party must prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the amount in controversy meets the jurisdictional threshold. Where doubt regarding the right to removal exists, a case should be remanded to state court.”); (footnotes omitted); Valdez, 372 F.3d at 1117. This order is not intended for publication. Nor is it intended to be included in or submitted to any online service such as Westlaw or Lexis.

CONCLUSION

Based on the foregoing, IT IS ORDERED that: 1. The above-captioned action shall be remanded to the Superior Court of the State of California for the County of Los Angeles, for lack of subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c). 2. The Clerk shall send a certified copy of this Order to the state court. 3. Any pending motion is denied as moot.