Hector Mendoza Gonzalez v. Sheraton Operating Corporation

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

HECTOR MENDOZA CV 20-8785 DSF (AGRx)

GONZALEZ,

Plaintiff, Order GRANTING Motion for Remand (Dkt. No. 15) v.

SHERATON OPERATING

CORP., et al., Defendants.

Defendants removed this case based on diversity jurisdiction. Plaintiff has filed a motion to remand. The Court deems this matter appropriate for decision without oral argument. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 78; Local Rule 7-15. The hearing set for December 7, 2020 is removed from the Court’s calendar. The Court is not satisfied that Kyung Soo Carroll is fraudulently joined. A defendant who is a resident of the forum state is fraudulently joined “‘if the plaintiff fails to state a cause of action against [the] resident defendant, and the failure is obvious according to the settled rules of the state.’” Morris v. Princess Cruises, Inc., 236 F.3d 1061, 1067 (9th Cir. 2001) (quoting McCabe v. Gen. Foods Corp., 811 F.2d 1336, 1339 (9th Cir. 1987)). “[T]he test for fraudulent joinder and for failure to state a claim under Rule 12(b)(6) are not equivalent.” Grancare, LLC v. Thrower, 889 F.3d 543, 549 (9th Cir. 2018). In evaluating a claim of…