District Court Erred in Denying Remand of Dispute vs. Dish, Says 9th Circuit Brief
Plaintiff-appellant Narciso Fuentes initially brought his action in Alameda County Superior Court, seeking injunctive relief to bar Dish Network from future violations of California’s Home Solicitation Sales Act, said his opening brief Monday (docket 23-15865) in the 9th U.S. Circuit…
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Court of Appeals. Dish promptly removed Fuentes’ case to U.S. District Court for Northern California, but it was “undisputed” that Fuentes lacked Article III standing in federal court to “pursue the public injunctive relief he sought" under California law, said the brief. After all his other claims had been adjudicated, Fuentes moved for a remand of the only unadjudicated claims, those for public injunctive relief, it said. The district court denied the motion and instead proceeded to enter judgment, it said. Fuentes asks the 9th Circuit to reverse the denial of remand and direct the district court to remand his claims for public injunctive relief to Alameda County Superior Court, where his case originated, said his brief. The problems began for Fuentes, a native Spanish speaker who understands very little English, in August 2015 when he answered a direct-mail flyer advertising Dish’s Spanish-language satellite TV programming, said his brief. He agreed to the installation of the Dish equipment in his Oakland home, after connecting on the phone with a Spanish-speaking Dish agent, it said. When a Dish installation technician came to Fuentes’ home, he presented him with a tablet that displayed Dish’s subscription contract, all in English, and asked him to sign, it said. He soon realized he had agreed to a 24-month contract, when he wanted only a 12-month term, but when he phoned Dish, a Spanish-speaking agent told him he would be on the hook for $480 for terminating his contract early, it said. Fuentes’ appeal rests on his argument that the district court erred in denying remand “on the basis that it had already adjudicated all of Fuentes’ claims, including public injunctive relief,” said his brief.