Rouse, et al. v. Wachovia Mortgage, No. 12-55278 (9th Cir. 2014)
Annotate this CasePlaintiffs filed suit against Wells Fargo, raising multiple causes of action under state and federal law pertaining to plaintiffs' home loan and deed of trust. At issue was whether, under 28 U.S.C. 1348, a national bank is a citizen of both the state in which its principal place of business is located as designated in the banks' articles of association. The court concluded that, under section 1348, a national bank is a citizen only of the state in which its main office is located. Therefore, the district court had diversity jurisdiction because there was complete diversity between plaintiffs, citizens of California, and Wells Fargo, a citizen of South Dakota. Accordingly, the court reversed the district court's judgment to the contrary and remanded for further proceedings.
Court Description: Diversity Jurisdiction. The panel reversed the district court’s order remanding the case to California Superior Court for lack of diversity jurisdiction. The panel held that under 28 U.S.C. § 1348 a national bank is a citizen only of the state in which its main office is located. The panel concluded that the district court had diversity jurisdiction because there was complete diversity between the plaintiffs, citizens of California, and Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., a citizen of South Dakota. Judge Gould dissented because he would view Wells Fargo as a citizen of California for diversity purposes, and affirm the district court.
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