Unreported / Non-Citable
Background
Tobias Egbert sued General Motors LLC and unnamed Doe defendants, and the case is pending in the Central District of California in Santa Ana. Egbert moved to remand it to Orange County Superior Court. Among other arguments, he contends that General Motors has not shown the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000, the threshold for diversity jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. section 1332(a). The motion to remand remains pending and has not been decided.
Rather than rule on the existing record, Judge John W. Holcomb acted on the court's own motion. The order is titled an Order to Show Cause Regarding Subject Matter Jurisdiction, but in substance it is a discovery and case-management order. It does not find that jurisdiction exists or is lacking. The order also refers to a separate order to show cause about Egbert's failure to comply with Rule 7.1(a)(2), which is likewise continued.
The Court’s Holding
The court relied on Ninth Circuit authority that district courts have broad discretion to permit or deny discovery. That authority also says discovery should ordinarily be granted where pertinent jurisdictional facts are controverted or a more satisfactory showing of the facts is necessary. The court cited Laub v. U.S. Department of the Interior and, as an analogous example, a Central District decision that ordered jurisdictional discovery sua sponte to clarify the amount in controversy. It concluded that discovery is appropriate so the parties can establish the amount in controversy and the court can definitively determine whether it has subject matter jurisdiction.
The order grants General Motors leave to conduct jurisdictional discovery, including but not limited to narrowly tailored interrogatories and requests for admission. By November 13, 2026, Egbert must serve a computation of each category of damages he claims. He must also make available for inspection and copying the documents or other evidentiary material on which each computation rests, as Rule 26(a)(1)(A)(iii) provides.
The court also directed the parties and counsel to review their obligations under the Local Rules and Rule 11, particularly Rule 11(b)(3) and (b)(4). It stated that any party who wishes to withdraw a filing after that review may do so under the Local Rules. Simultaneous supplemental briefs on the remand motion are due December 18, 2026. The remand hearing, the Scheduling Conference and the hearing on the separate order to show cause are continued to January 8, 2027, at 9:00 a.m. in Courtroom 9D in Santa Ana. The order imposes no sanctions and does not rule on remand.
Key Takeaways
- The court ordered jurisdictional discovery on its own motion because the facts bearing on the amount in controversy were contested and more were needed.
- General Motors may pursue discovery on the amount in controversy, including narrowly tailored interrogatories and requests for admission, but the order does not limit it to those devices.
- Egbert must serve a category-by-category damages computation and make the supporting documents available by November 13, 2026.
- Parties and counsel were told to review Rule 11(b)(3) and (b)(4) and the Local Rules and may withdraw filings under L.R. 7-16, but no sanctions were imposed.
- Nothing about jurisdiction or remand has been decided. Supplemental briefs are due December 18, 2026, and the hearings are continued to January 8, 2027.
Why It Matters
The order shows a federal district court using discovery to resolve a disputed amount in controversy before deciding a remand motion. By requiring the plaintiff to disclose his damages computation and supporting materials, and by allowing the removing defendant to test the claims through discovery, the court builds a factual record for its jurisdictional ruling instead of deciding on competing assertions.
The order is an interim ruling on a pending motion, not a final determination of jurisdiction, and its reasoning rests on cited Ninth Circuit authority rather than a new rule. Whether the case stays in federal court or returns to Orange County Superior Court remains open until the court rules after supplemental briefing and the January 8, 2027 hearing.