NOT FOR PUBLICATION

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

KOREY AARSTAD; SCOTT A. ALBERT; 

MARK D. ANDERSON; DAVID B. 

ANDERSON; ALBERT C. ANDERSON; 

CHARLES H. ASHLEY, Jr.; JOHN E. 

BACHE; CECIL F. BACHE, P.R. Glenda 

Larson; LINDA J. BACKEN; DANIEL P. 

BACKEN; RANDALL W. BAETH; 

RICHARD D. BARNETT; GERALD L. 

BASS; DOUGLAS K. BIBB; DONNA M. 

BLACK; JIMMY R. BLIXT; SHELLEY A. 

BOURSAW; RHONDA R. BRAATEN; 

GLENN L. BREDESON; DARLENE K. 

BRESE, P.R. Jack Brese; MICHAEL E. 

BROOKS; DANIEL W BROSSMAN; 

HAZEL M. BROSSMAN; DOUGLAS L. 

BROWN; KIRK C. BRUS; ROBBIN R. 

BUTKUS; JAMES E BUTLER; LARRY L. 

CALLOWAY; JOSEPH G. CAMP; 

HERMINE M. CAMPBELL, P.R. Joseph 

Campbell; JAMES T. CARABIN, Sr.; 

JOHN E. CARLOCK; BETSY E 

CARPENTER; GORDON V. CARR; 

CHERI L. CARR; VIOLET M. CARROLL; 

KEITH CASSEL; DAVID L. CHAPEL; 

RUTH A. CHOATE; WENDY D. 

CHRISTENSEN; BRIAN L. COLDIRON; 

ROBERT A. COLEMAN; KATHERINE M. 

CRAIGMILE; STUART G. CRISMORE; 

KURT C. CROUCHER; CYMON A. 

CURTISS; ROBERT L. DAY; ROXANN L. 

No. 20-35805 

D.C. No. 

4:17-cv-00072-BMM-JTJ 

MEMORANDUM*

* This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent 

except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.

FILED

OCT 30 2020

MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK

U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
2 

DENTLINGER; DAVID L. DONEY; 

LINDA L. DORRINGTON; TODD A. 

DOTSON; KENNETH L. DRAKE; SHERI 

A. EDWARDS; ROBERT C. 

ENGEBRETSON; KELLY W. EVANS; 

RHONDA S. FARNES; DEBRA J. FERCH; 

RONALD A. FOOTE; ALTON O. FORE; 

RALPH E. FOX; ANITA F. FUND, PR -

Alvin Funk; DALE L. GINGER; KRISTINE 

A. GODSEY; JOSEPH A. GOSTNELL; 

RICK L. GULLINGSRUD; WAYNE W. 

HARTMANN; DIANNA L. HAYWOOD; 

JOEL B. HEFTY; JEANETTE H. 

HOFFMAN; CHERI L. JAVORSKY; 

ROBERT J. JAVORSKY; RAMONA J. 

JELLESED; JIMMY D. JOHNSON; 

MELODY L. JOHNSON; ORVILLE D. 

JOHNSON, PR - Brenda Neuman 

Brunscher; DARALD E. KELLEY; 

SANDRA S. KENELTY; DAVID A. 

KINGERY; BENJAMIN F. KLIN; LYNN 

M. KOSKELA; LEONARD H. KOSKELA; 

BRADLEY L. LABELLE; LEE S. 

LAMPTON; LINDA L. LMAPTON; 

SIDNEY L. LEIR; DAVID L. LEIM; 

DEBORAH K. LOOMIS; STEVEN R. 

MADISON; TERRY D. MAGONE; 

SANDRA J. MAILE; LINDA A. 

MASTERSON; DAVID D. MCDONALD; 

ROBERTA J. MCNULTY; MARGARET 

A. MOLINELLI; NORMA T. MUNRO; 

SHARON L. MUNSON; SANDRA D. 

MURCH; SHAYNE A. NELSON; KEVIN 

R. NEUBAUER; SHIRLEY M. NIXON; 

SCOTT N. NOBLE; PAULETTE D. 

NOSLER; PATRICK H. O'BRIEN; 

DRILDA J. O'BRIEN; MARK D. OLSEN; 

WADE L. OLSON; JOHN M. O'NEILL; 

CARL L. ORSBORN; LYNDEEN J. 
3 

OSBORNE; MICHAEL J. PARKER; 

BETTY L. PENNOCK, PR - Alfred 

Pennock; GREG W. PHILLIPS; DALE B. 

PHILLIPS; WAYNE B. POSSELT; JAMES 

M. POWERS, Sr.; A. TONY PRICE; 

DENNIS G. QUINN; DANIEL K. QUINN; 

ALLAN V. RANDALL; ALVIN G. 

RANDALL; CLAYTON R. RAYSON; PAT 

N. RAYSON; STEVEN J. RICHARD; 

ROBERTS JOELLEN; TODD E. ROBINS; 

GERALD D. ROBINS; JUNE J. ROOSE; 

VALERIE D. ROOT; CLAIRE C. ROSE; 

WILLIAM R. ROWBERRY; PEGGY S. 

RUFF; PATRICK H. RYAN; REBECCA J. 

SALLER; SALVADOR F. SARACINO; 

MARVIN C. SATHER; KATHLEEN E. 

SCHAREN; DIETMAR G. SCHAUSS; 

HAROLD L. SCHIELE; JEFFREY M. 

SHELTON; LEONARD K. SHOEMAKER; 

BETTY A. SIKES; DAVID W. SKRANAK; 

FLORENCE E. SLATER; DONALD RAY 

SMITH; BRENDA S. STAMPER; TERRY 

L. STEIGER; TIMBER K. STEVENS; 

ELLIS D. STEWART; GLENN N. 

STUBBS; MELVIN G. SUNDT; THOMAS 

V. SWEARINGEN; HUGH E. SWIMLEY; 

LEE ANN SWITZER; DANIEL W. 

TORGISON; BETTY R. VAN ALSTINE; 

G. MICHAEL VAN ALSTINE; BETTY F. 

VINION; JULIE A. VOLKENAND; LANA 

M. WALEN; DEBBRA K. WELCOME; 

PEGGY A. KELLEY; STEVEN R. 

MAGONE; GREG MCNULTY; REBECCA 

N. MESSICK; JESSIA M. PARKER; 

STEVEN J. RIDDLE; MARY A. 

STINEBACK; THOMAS D. THOMPSON; 

GEORGE L. WEST; SUE C. WEST; 

EDWIN B. WESTON; SARA A. 

WHITEHOUSE; ROBERT D. WILBURN; 
4 

LARRY J. WILEY; DAVID M. 

WILLIAMS; CLARENCE J. WINN; 

HAROLD M. WISE; JUDY M. WOLLER; 

PATRICK J. YOUSO; DAVID J. ZWANG; 

DEBRA K. CHAMBERLAIN; MICHAEL 

D. CHAPMAN; MICHAEL J. 

CLAIRMONT; DELBERT L. COLLINS; 

WESLEY M. DECKER; MARK D. 

DODGE; SUZANNE DODGE; 

CLARENCE HUNTER; SAMMY L. 

KNOWLES; SHIRLEY Y. KOSKELA; 

CAROL A. LOCKWOOD; GROVER W. 

LOCKWOOD, 

Plaintiffs-Appellees, 

 v. 

BNSF RAILWAY COMPANY, a Delaware 

corporation; JOHN SWING, 

Defendants-Appellants.

Appeal from the United States District Court

for the District of Montana

Brian M. Morris, District Judge, Presiding

Argued and Submitted October 16, 2020

San Francisco, California

Before: McKEOWN and NGUYEN, Circuit Judges, and VITALIANO,** District 

Judge.

** The Honorable Eric N. Vitaliano, United States District Judge for the 

Eastern District of New York, sitting by designation.
5 

BNSF Railway and John Swing appeal the district court’s order remanding 

this action to state court based on the “local controversy” exception to jurisdiction 

under the Class Action Fairness Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1332(d)(4)(A). We have 

jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1453(c). Reviewing the district court’s application 

of the local controversy exception de novo and its underlying factual findings for 

clear error, see Mondragon v. Capital One Auto Fin., 736 F.3d 880, 883, 886 (9th 

Cir. 2013), we affirm.1

1. The district court correctly determined that this action qualifies as a 

mass action because, among other reasons, it involves “monetary relief claims of 

100 or more persons [that] are proposed to be tried jointly.” 28 U.S.C. 

§ 1332(d)(11)(B)(i). Regardless of whether “100 or more persons” have present 

injuries sufficient to give rise to Article III standing, this numerical threshold 

“refers to actual named parties” rather than parties with an interest in the litigation. 

Mississippi ex rel. Hood v. AU Optronics Corp., 571 U.S. 161, 173 (2014). By 

filing a single complaint without indicating otherwise, the 192 plaintiffs here 

implicitly proposed a joint trial. See Briggs v. Merck Sharp & Dohme, 796 F.3d 

1038, 1048 (9th Cir. 2015) (“[I]mplicit proposals may trigger CAFA’s removal

jurisdiction.”).

1 BNSF’s motion to extend its brief deadline (docket entry no. 9) is denied as 

moot.
6 

2. BNSF and Swing forfeited their first three contentions.

2

 The magistrate 

judge made a factual finding that “greater than two-thirds of the [plaintiffs]” are 

Montana citizens. 28 U.S.C. § 1332(d)(4)(A)(i)(I); see Coleman v. Estes Express 

Lines, Inc., 631 F.3d 1010, 1015 (9th Cir. 2011). By failing to object in the district 

court, BNSF in effect “waive[d] a challenge to that finding.” In re Grand Jury 

Subpoena, 357 F.3d 900, 910 (9th Cir. 2004).

The magistrate judge also concluded that plaintiffs seek “significant relief” 

from Swing, and that his alleged conduct formed “a significant basis” for 

plaintiffs’ claims. 28 U.S.C. § 1332(d)(4)(A)(i)(II)(aa)–(bb). BNSF and Swing 

failed to timely object to these conclusions in the district court. See 28 U.S.C. 

§ 636(b)(1) (setting a 14-day deadline); D. Mont. L.R. 72.3(b) (same). While not 

determinative, this failure “is a factor to be weighed” in the forfeiture analysis. In 

re Grand Jury Subpoena, 357 F.3d at 910 (quoting Turner v. Duncan, 158 F.3d 

449, 455 (9th Cir. 1998)).

BNSF and Swing were on notice that forfeiture was at issue in the prior 

appeal because plaintiffs raised the issue. Yet on remand to the district court, 

BNSF and Swing did not address the “significant relief” or “significant basis” 

criteria in their supplemental brief. When they first raised their objections to the 

2 Because the existence of a local controversy does not affect the district 

court’s subject matter jurisdiction, the issue is subject to waiver and forfeiture. See

Visendi v. Bank of Am., N.A., 733 F.3d 863, 869 (9th Cir. 2013).
7 

magistrate judge’s conclusions on these two issues—in their objections to the 

magistrate judge’s supplemental findings and conclusions, which did not address 

“significant relief” or “significant basis”—more than two years had passed. 

Neither plaintiffs nor the district court had notice that BNSF and Swing intended to 

litigate these issues on remand, and the district court never addressed the substance 

of BNSF and Swing’s objections. Under these circumstances, BNSF and Swing 

have forfeited the issues. See Mosier v. Stonefield Josephson, Inc., 815 F.3d 1161, 

1172 (9th Cir. 2016) (“Normally, we do not consider on appeal issues not properly 

raised before the district court.”).

3. BNSF and Swing challenge the district court’s finding that the “principal 

injuries resulting from the alleged conduct or any related conduct of each 

defendant were incurred in” Montana. 28 U.S.C. § 1332(d)(4)(A)(i)(III). 

Although plaintiffs’ allegations concern injuries incurred in Montana, BNSF and 

Swing argue that the district court failed to consider BNSF’s out-of-state “related 

conduct” and the injuries that it produced.

3

3 To the extent BNSF and Swing argue that the district court erred by failing 

to consider defendant Robinson Insulation’s conduct outside Montana, they waived 

that argument. In their objections to the magistrate judge’s supplemental findings,

BNSF and Swing stated that it was “unclear” why the magistrate judge made 

findings regarding Robinson Insulation because their argument concerned BNSF’s 

out-of-state conduct.
8 

In crafting the local controversy exception, Congress considered 

environmental disasters the archetype of “principal injuries” occurring in the forum 

state. See S. Rep. No. 109-14, at 40 (2005). The fact that BNSF may have caused 

injuries in other communities around the country by improperly handling 

vermiculite there is unrelated to BNSF’s alleged actions in and around Libby, 

Montana. BNSF and Swing provided no evidence that the injuries suffered in 

Montana resulted from a corporate policy of malfeasance that affected victims 

nationwide. Even if such a policy existed, the single out-of-state alleged victim 

they identify is far from sufficient to show that the district court clearly erred in 

finding that the principal injuries from BNSF’s conduct were incurred in Montana.

AFFIRMED.