Escalante

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

KEVIN ESCALANTE, Case No. 19-cv-06853-VC

Plaintiff,

ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO

v. REMAND

FORD MOTOR COMPANY, et al., Re: Dkt. No. 10 Defendants.

Ford removed this case on the theory that complete diversity exists because Cerritos Ford, a California corporation, was fraudulently joined. But while the complaint’s allegations against Cerritos Ford are thin, it seems possible that Escalante could succeed on his negligent repair claim against the dealer – or that, at the very least, any “deficiency in the complaint [could] possibly be cured by granting the plaintiff leave to amend.” Grancare, LLC v. Thrower by and through Mills, 889 F.3d 543, 550 (9th Cir. 2018). Ford argues that the negligent repair claim is barred by the economic loss rule. But the contours of this rule under California tort law are not clear enough to provide “extraordinarily strong . . . arguments that [Escalante] could not possibly prevail on [his] claims against the allegedly fraudulently joined defendant.” Id. at 548. California courts often conduct a somewhat open-ended analysis when determining…