Diaz v. First American, No. 11-57239 (9th Cir. 2013)
Annotate this CasePlaintiff, the owner of a home warranty plan from First American, filed a class action complaint alleging that First American refused to make timely repairs, used substandard contractors, and wrongfully denied claims. The district court dismissed some of plaintiff's claims under Rule 12(b)(6); First American made an offer of judgment on plaintiff's remaining claims; and, when plaintiff did not accept the offer, the district court dismissed the remaining claims for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. On appeal, plaintiff challenged the district court's dismissal of plaintiff's remaining claims. The court vacated the dismissal of the remaining individual claims, holding that an unaccepted Rule 68 offer that would fully satisfy plaintiff's claim was insufficient to render the claim moot. Therefore, plaintiff's remaining claims were not made moot by her refusal to accept First American's Rule 68 offer, even assuming that the offer would have fully satisfied her claims.
Court Description: Fed. R. Civ. P. 68 Offer of Judgment. The panel vacated the district court’s dismissal of plaintiff’s individual claims, and held that an unaccepted Fed. R. Civ. P. 68 offer of judgment made by the defendant did not render moot plaintiff’s claims for misrepresentation, breach of contract, and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. The panel, acknowledging a circuit split on the issue, held that an unaccepted Rule 68 offer that would fully satisfy a plaintiff’s claim is insufficient to render the claim moot.
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