UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

TREASURE TRIPLETT, CV 20-10247 DSF (MAAx) Plaintiff, Order DENYING Motion to v. Remand (Dkt. No. 16)

FEDERAL EXPRESS CORPORATION, et al., Defendants.

Plaintiff has moved for remand claiming that (1) Defendants have failed to establish Federal Express Corporation is not a citizen of California and (2) Defendants have failed to establish the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000. 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 28, 2020 is removed from the Court’s calendar. Neither of Plaintiff’s arguments has merit. A corporation is the citizen of the state where it is incorporated and the state where it has its principal place of business.

(c)(1). Federal Express Corporation is incorporated in Delaware. The principal place of business of a corporation is where the “nerve center” of the business is – where the corporation’s high-level officers direct and control its activities. Hertz Corp. v. Friend,

(2010). Defendants provided evidence that the high-level officers are located in, and make decisions from, Tennessee. Plaintiff’s only contrary argument is that Federal Express Corporation filed a Statement of Information for a foreign corporation with the California Secretary of State that said Federal Express Corporation’s principal office in California is in Irvine. A foreign corporation’s principal office within a particular state is not the same as the principal place of business for the corporation as a whole. The Court is also satisfied that the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000. Even if Defendants’ lost wages calculation is exaggerated, potential emotional damages, attorney’s fees (at $625 per hour), and requested punitive damages puts the amount at issue in the case well over $75,000. At $625 per hour, as requested in Plaintiff's motion to remand, Plaintiff's counsel would only have to spend 120.1 hours on the case for fees alone to exceed $75,000. There is a very high likelihood that litigation of this case through trial would require at least that much attorney time. The motion to remand is DENIED.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Date: December 16, 2020 Aoe 2. acter Dale S. Fischer United States District Judge