Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-cand-5_15-md-02617/USCOURTS-cand-5_15-md-02617-12/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 190
Nature of Suit: Other Contract Actions
Cause of Action: 28:1332 Diversity-Breach of Contract

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Case Nos. 15-MD-02617-LHK; 15-CV-2874-LHK

ORDER FOR SUPPLEMENTAL BRIEFING RE MOTION TO REMAND

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United States District Court

Northern District of California

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

SAN JOSE DIVISION

IN RE ANTHEM, INC. DATA BREACH 

LITIGATION

JILL NOBLE, et al.,

Plaintiffs, 

v.

RIGHTCHOICE MANAGED CARE, INC., 

et al., 

Defendants.

Case No. 15-MD-02617-LHK

ORDER FOR SUPPLEMENTAL 

BRIEFING RE MOTION TO REMAND

Case No. 15-CV-2874-LHK

Plaintiffs Jill Noble, Christina Novak, Cherri Hawes, and Jim Gioia (collectively, 

“Plaintiffs”) bring a putative class action against defendants RightCHOICE Managed Care, Inc., 

HMO Missouri, Inc., and Healthy Alliance Life Insurance Company (collectively, “Defendants”) 

arising out of a cyberattack on the computer system of Defendants’ parent company, Anthem, Inc. 

Case 5:15-md-02617-LHK Document 211 Filed 08/27/15 Page 1 of 3
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Case Nos. 15-MD-02617-LHK; 15-CV-2874-LHK

ORDER FOR SUPPLEMENTAL BRIEFING RE MOTION TO REMAND

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United States District Court

Northern District of California

(“Anthem”). Before the Court is Plaintiffs’ motion to remand the case to the Circuit Court of St. 

Louis County, 21st Judicial Circuit, in the State of Missouri. ECF No. 16.1

Although this action was filed in the Eastern District of Missouri, which sits in the Eighth 

Circuit, this Court should apply Ninth Circuit law to the instant motion to remand. See Newton v. 

Thomason, 22 F.3d 1455, 1460 (9th Cir. 1994) (holding that “when reviewing federal claims, a 

transferee court in this circuit is bound only by our circuit’s precedent”); see also In re Gen. Am. 

Life Ins. Co. Sales Practices Litig., 391 F.3d 907, 911 (8th Cir. 2004) (“When a transferee court 

receives a case from the MDL Panel, the transferee court applies the law of the circuit in which it 

is located to issues of federal law.”); In re Sony Gaming Networks & Customer Data Sec. Breach 

Litig., 996 F. Supp. 2d 942, 959 (S.D. Cal. 2014) (“In interpreting federal law, a transferee court in 

a multidistrict case should look to the law of its own circuit rather than the law of the transferor 

courts’ circuits.”).

Because the current briefing does not cite relevant Ninth Circuit precedent, the Court 

hereby ORDERS the parties to file simultaneous supplemental briefs not to exceed ten (10) pages 

in length. The briefs shall be filed no later than September 4, 2015. The hearing on the motion to 

remand set for September 10, 2015, at 1:30 p.m. remains as set. At a minimum, the parties’ briefs 

should address Ninth Circuit precedent pertaining to complete preemption under the Employee 

Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”). See, e.g., Marin Gen. Hosp. v. Modesto & Empire 

Traction Co., 581 F.3d 941, 946 (9th Cir. 2009) (establishing two-pronged test for complete 

preemption under ERISA). The parties’ briefs should also address the recent decisions granting 

motions to remand in other Anthem data breach cases removed to district courts in the Ninth 

Circuit. See Smilow v. Anthem Blue Cross Life & Health Ins. Co., No. CV 15-4556-

MWF(AGRX), 2015 WL 4778824 (C.D. Cal. Aug. 13, 2015) (granting motion to remand); 

Wickens v. Blue Cross of Cal., Inc., No. 15CV834-GPC JMA, 2015 WL 4255129 (S.D. Cal. July 

14, 2015) (remanding case to state court).

 

1 All ECF references are to the docket of Case No. 15-CV-2874-LHK.

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Case Nos. 15-MD-02617-LHK; 15-CV-2874-LHK

ORDER FOR SUPPLEMENTAL BRIEFING RE MOTION TO REMAND

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United States District Court

Northern District of California

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: August 27, 2015

______________________________________

LUCY H. KOH

United States District Judge

Case 5:15-md-02617-LHK Document 211 Filed 08/27/15 Page 3 of 3