Frieson v. Dollar Tree Stores, Inc.
- Maxine Chesney
- 3:22-cv-02212
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 3
In Frieson v. Dollar Tree Stores, Inc., Judge Chesney remanded the case to state court because complete diversity no longer existed.
The plaintiffs and Dollar Tree Stores, Inc. and the other defendants are affected. The case proceeds in Alameda County Superior Court, the federal court's pending dates are vacated, and Soraida Miramontes will not be added as a defendant but will be made available to testify while she remains employed by Dollar Tree.
What happened
Frieson v. Dollar Tree Stores, Inc. began as a personal-injury lawsuit in California state court and was later moved to federal court by Dollar Tree. The alleged incident occurred at a Dollar Tree store in San Leandro, California.
The parties agreed that the plaintiff would not add Dollar Tree manager Soraida Miramontes as a defendant. They also agreed that Dollar Tree would make Miramontes available to testify while she remained an employee. The parties asked the federal court to return the case to state court.
Judge Maxine M. Chesney ordered the case remanded to Alameda County Superior Court because complete diversity no longer existed and the federal court therefore lacked subject-matter jurisdiction. The court also vacated all pending federal dates.
The detailed version
- Frieson v. Dollar Tree Stores, Inc. · No. 3:22-cv-02212
- Maxine Chesney
- July 25, 2022
Background
Victoria Frieson and Tina Combs, successor in interest of decedent Inell Jenkins, filed a personal-injury complaint in the Superior Court of California for Alameda County. The complaint concerned an alleged incident on October 17, 2019, at a Dollar Tree store in San Leandro, California. Dollar Tree removed the case to federal court under federal diversity and related jurisdiction statutes.
Dollar Tree identified Soraida Miramontes as the manager on duty when the incident occurred. The plaintiff said she intended to ask for permission to amend the complaint to add Miramontes as a defendant and to return the case to state court. The parties agreed that adding Miramontes would eliminate complete diversity—the requirement that no plaintiff and defendant be citizens of the same state—and that the federal court would then lack subject-matter jurisdiction.
Ruling
The court granted the parties’ stipulation to remand. It ordered the case returned to the Alameda County Superior Court under Case No. 21CV000537 because complete diversity no longer existed. The court vacated all pending dates in the federal action.
The order also stated that the plaintiff would not name Miramontes as a defendant and that Dollar Tree would make her available for testimony in the case as long as she remained a Dollar Tree employee. The order did not decide the underlying personal-injury claims.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.