Sack, Circuit Judge:
Plaintiff-appellant Maya Pyskaty appeals from the district court's dismissal of her amended complaint against defendants-appellees Wide World of Cars, LLC ("WWC") and BMW Bank of North America
WWC moved to dismiss the amended complaint for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction, arguing that Pyskaty did not satisfy the MMWA's $50,000 minimum-amount-in-controversy requirement. See 15 U.S.C. § 2310(d)(3)(B). The district court (Judith C. McCarthy, Magistrate Judge) granted the motion, agreeing with WWC that the value of Pyskaty's MMWA claims did not amount to $50,000 and that Pyskaty could neither amend her complaint to add a claim for punitive damages under the MMWA, nor rely on the value of her state-law claims, to meet the jurisdictional threshold.
Because we conclude that the value of Pyskaty's MMWA claims, as pled, exceeds $50,000, we reverse the district court's decision and remand for further proceedings.
On October 31, 2013, Pyskaty visited WWC, an automobile dealership located in Spring Valley, New York, seeking to purchase a "certified pre-owned" ("CPO")
Within a week after the purchase, Pyskaty allegedly began experiencing problems while driving the Vehicle. Specifically, she alleged that the Vehicle "ran rough," "vibrated while driving," and "consumed large amounts of oil." Id. ¶¶ 29, 32-34. The Vehicle later presented additional, more worrisome issues, including intermittent loss of power steering, lack of power on acceleration, malfunctioning door locks, and engine sluggishness while in reverse. Id. ¶¶ 42, 50, 59, 81, 83. Between November 2013 and May 2014, Pyskaty visited multiple service centers and paid for several repairs in an attempt to fix the Vehicle. See id. ¶¶ 35, 40, 42-45, 48, 51, 53-54, 57, 59-62.
Shortly thereafter, Pyskaty began to suspect that the Vehicle had been damaged in an accident before she purchased it, contrary to the CARFAX report that she was shown in October 2013. Id. ¶ 78. On June 12, 2014, Pyskaty obtained an AutoCheck report,
On March 4, 2015, Pyskaty filed this lawsuit against the defendants in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The parties consented to have a magistrate judge conduct all proceedings in the litigation, including the entry of final judgment, in accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 636(c).
Based on these allegations, Pyskaty asserted claims against the defendants for: (1) breach of express and implied warranties under the MMWA and New York Uniform Commercial Code ("N.Y.U.C.C.") §§ 2-313, 2-314; (2) common law fraud; and (3) false advertising and deceptive acts and practices under N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law §§ 349, 350. See id. ¶¶ 100-64. In connection with her MMWA claims, Pyskaty sought actual damages (or, alternatively, cancellation and rescission), attorney's fees, costs, and a declaratory judgment. Id. ¶ 165(a)-(b). In connection with her state-law claims, Pyskaty sought actual damages, capped treble damages, punitive damages, attorney's fees, costs, and injunctive and declaratory relief. Id. ¶ 165(c)-(g).
On August 21, 2015, WWC moved to dismiss the complaint for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction, arguing, inter alia, that Pyskaty's claims did not meet the MMWA's $50,000 amount-in-controversy requirement for federal jurisdiction. See Mem. of Law in Support of Mot. to Dismiss, Pyskaty v. Wide World of Cars, LLC, No. 15-cv-1600 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 21, 2015), ECF No. 18, at 2-7.
In opposition, Pyskaty argued, inter alia, that the amount in controversy under the MMWA is to be "computed on the basis of all claims to be determined in this suit," including Pyskaty's state-law claims. Mem. of Law in Opposition to Mot. to Dismiss, ECF No. 30, at 11 (emphasis partially omitted) (quoting 15 U.S.C. § 2310(d)(3)(B)); see also id. at 12-13. Viewed in the aggregate, Pyskaty contended, the value of all claims alleged in the amended complaint "far exceed[ed] the jurisdictional requirement of $50,000." Id. at 13. Pyskaty also argued that she was entitled under the MMWA to elect a remedy of revocation or rescission — either of which, she asserted, would itself be worth
On February 23, 2016, the district court issued a decision granting WWC's motion and closing the case. See Pyskaty v. Wide World of Cars, LLC, No. 15-cv-1600 (JCM), 2016 WL 828135, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21945 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 23, 2016).
Pyskaty appealed.
The MMWA, also known as the federal "lemon law,"
Pyskaty contends that the district court erred in declining to consider the value of her state-law claims when calculating the
"When reviewing the dismissal of a complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, we review factual findings for clear error and legal conclusions de novo, accepting all material facts alleged in the complaint as true and drawing all reasonable inferences in the plaintiff's favor." Lotes Co. v. Hon Hai Precision Indus. Co., 753 F.3d 395, 403 (2d Cir. 2014) (citation omitted). We may "refer[] to evidence outside of the pleadings" to resolve issues of jurisdictional fact. Zappia Middle E. Constr. Co. v. Emirate of Abu Dhabi, 215 F.3d 247, 253 (2d Cir. 2000).
Although a plaintiff invoking federal jurisdiction must demonstrate a "reasonable probability" that the amount-in-controversy requirement is satisfied, Tongkook Am., Inc. v. Shipton Sportswear Co., 14 F.3d 781, 784 (2d Cir. 1994) (citation omitted), "we recognize a rebuttable presumption that the face of the complaint is a good faith representation of the actual amount in controversy," Colavito v. N.Y. Organ Donor Network, Inc., 438 F.3d 214, 221 (2d Cir. 2006) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). A defendant may rebut that presumption by demonstrating "to a legal certainty that the plaintiff could not recover the amount alleged or that the damages alleged were feigned to satisfy jurisdictional minimums." Id. (citation and brackets omitted); see also St. Paul Mercury Indem. Co. v. Red Cab Co., 303 U.S. 283, 289, 58 S.Ct. 586, 82 S.Ct. 845 (1938) ("It must appear to a legal certainty that the claim is really for less than the jurisdictional amount to justify dismissal.").
Pyskaty asserts claims against the defendants for breach of express and implied warranties under the MMWA. See Compl. ¶¶ 100-25. Under section 2304 of the MMWA, when a warrantor breaches a "full" written warranty,
In the amended complaint, Pyskaty sought "actual damages" or, in the alternative, "cancellation and rescission of the loan" in connection with her MMWA claims. Compl. ¶¶ 117-18, 124-45.
We agree with the district court that Pyskaty may not count the value of the proposed punitive damages toward the amount in controversy. However, we conclude that Pyskaty's rescission claim supplies a sufficient basis for subject-matter jurisdiction and therefore reverse the judgment of the district court on that basis.
"We review a district court's denial of leave to amend for abuse of discretion, unless the denial was based on an interpretation of law, such as futility, in which case we review the legal conclusion de novo." Panther Partners Inc. v. Ikanos Commc'ns, Inc., 681 F.3d 114, 119 (2d Cir. 2012). "Futility is a determination, as a
In requesting leave to amend the complaint in the case at bar, Pyskaty did not propose to include additional factual allegations to support her claim for punitive damages. Rather, she sought permission to amend the complaint to clarify that she was seeking punitive damages as an additional remedy under the MMWA. See Mem. of Law in Opposition to Mot. to Dismiss, ECF No. 30, at 17 n.4.
As the district court correctly observed, "punitive damages are recoverable under the MMWA if they would be recoverable in a breach-of-warranty action brought under governing state law." Id. at *6, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21945, at *18.
Applying these principles, the district court determined that Pyskaty's amended complaint did not state a claim for punitive damages because it alleged "`an isolated transaction incident to an otherwise legitimate business[,]' [not] ... `a gross and wanton fraud upon the public.'" Pyskaty, 2016 WL 828135, at *7, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21945, at *21 (quoting TVT Records, 412 F.3d at 95). Accordingly, the district court concluded that "punitive damages ... should not be included in calculating the amount in controversy for jurisdictional purposes." Id., at *7, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21945, at *21-22. We agree.
Pyskaty insists that she alleged sufficient public safety concerns to warrant adding a request for punitive damages to her MMWA claims insofar as she alleged that, "[b]ecause of the defects set forth [in the amended complaint], the [V]ehicle is unsafe to drive and inoperable on public streets." Compl. ¶ 93. But "[the] incidental [safety] effects of [WWC's] conduct do not constitute conduct directed at the public generally." TVT Records, 412 F.3d at 95. Nor are they indicative of a broader "pattern of conduct." See Mayline Enters., Inc. v. Milea Truck Sales Corp., 641 F.Supp.2d 304, 312 (S.D.N.Y. 2009) ("[The] plaintiff argues that the fraud was directed at the general public rather than the plaintiff individually because the truck was held out for sale to the general public with an altered odometer. The argument is logical, but [the] plaintiff has still proven only a single incident of odometer alteration."); Stegich v. Saab Cars USA, Inc., 177 Misc.2d 81, 82, 676 N.Y.S.2d 756, 756 (1st Dep't 1998) (per curiam) ("Plaintiff's general assertion that he was `only one of many members of the public who entered the defendant [dealer's] showroom to purchase a new car' is hardly sufficient to sustain a finding that defendants' conduct constituted a public wrong." (alteration in original) (internal quotation marks omitted)). Moreover, although the amended complaint alleges, "upon information and belief," that WWC "regularly" induces customers to purchase vehicles based on false or inaccurate information, Compl. ¶ 152, this allegation is entirely speculative: The amended complaint contains no allegations of fact which, if true, would suggest that WWC has engaged in similarly fraudulent transactions on other occasions or that Pyskaty has a good-faith basis for claiming that it does so on a "regular and recurring basis." Id. ¶ 154; see Arista Records, LLC v. Doe 3, 604 F.3d 110, 120 (2d Cir. 2010) (explaining that a "conclusory allegation on information and belief ... [is] insufficient to make [a] claim plausible" where "the complaint's `[f]actual allegations ... [do not] raise a right to relief above the speculative level'" (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) (emphasis in Arista Records)); Wexner v. First Manhattan Co., 902 F.2d 169, 172 (2d Cir. 1990) ("Where pleading is permitted on information and belief, a complaint must [still] adduce specific facts supporting a strong inference of fraud or it will not satisfy even a relaxed pleading standard.").
Under New York law, a plaintiff may obtain rescission — in lieu of actual damages — when a breach of contract is either "material and willful" or "so substantial and fundamental" that it "strongly tend[s] to defeat" the purpose of the contract. See Graham v. James, 144 F.3d 229, 237 (2d Cir. 1998). Because it is an equitable remedy, rescission is available only if damages would not be a "complete and adequate" remedy and "the status quo may be substantially restored" by equitable relief. Rudman v. Cowles Commc'ns, Inc., 30 N.Y.2d 1, 13, 330 N.Y.S.2d 33, 43, 280 N.E.2d 867, 874 (1972) (emphasis omitted).
In the case at bar, the district court concluded that even if Pyskaty were entitled to rescission, the value of that remedy would not meet or exceed the $50,000 amount-in-controversy requirement. Pyskaty, 2016 WL 828135, at *7 n.14, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21945, at *23 n.14. The district court based this conclusion on its observation that "in an action seeking the equitable remedy of declaratory or injunctive relief, `it is well established that the amount in controversy is measured by the value of the object of the litigation.'" Id. (quoting Hunt v. Wash. State Apple Advert Comm'n, 432 U.S. 333, 347, 97 S.Ct. 2434, 53 L.Ed.2d 383 (1977)). The district court reasoned that here, "the `object of the litigation' is the Vehicle," which, according to Pyskaty, was worth only $14,865 at the time of suit — less, of course, than the $50,000 jurisdictional threshold. Id.; see also Compl. ¶ 95 (alleging that the "current value of the [V]ehicle is approximately $14,865.00"). Accordingly, the district court concluded that Pyskaty could not establish federal subject-matter jurisdiction based on her rescission claim. Pyskaty, 2016 WL 828135, at *7 n.14, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21945, at *23 n.14.
Pyskaty argues that the district court erred in treating the Vehicle, rather than the purchase agreement, as the "object of the litigation" for the purpose of valuing her rescission claim. See Appellant's Br. at 43-47. Pyskaty's position comports with the approach employed by our sister circuits for valuing rescission claims in this context: The Third and Sixth Circuits — which appear to be the only ones to have explicitly reached this issue — adhere to the principle that "where a plaintiff seeks to rescind a contract, the contract's entire value, without offset, is the amount in controversy." Rosen v. Chrysler Corp., 205 F.3d 918, 921 (6th Cir. 2000); see also Metcalfe v. Renaissance Marine, Inc., 566 F.3d 324, 329 (3d Cir. 2009) (noting that the value of the plaintiff's rescission claim amounted to at least the full $85,000 purchase price of the allegedly defective powerboat and therefore satisfied the amount-in-controversy requirement for federal subject-matter jurisdiction).
We decline to adopt the approach taken by the district court, which looked to the value of the defective item — i.e., the Vehicle — rather than the amount payable under the contract to be rescinded. That approach, we think, would likely have the perverse effect of reducing the jurisdictional value of a breach-of-contract claim in direct proportion to the seriousness of the defect: The more defective the product, the less the amount in controversy. Under such a rule, a plaintiff seeking to rescind a contract under which she paid $80,000 for an item worth $60,000, for example, would meet the jurisdictional threshold, but a plaintiff who paid $1 million for goods that were worth $25,000 would not, despite having suffered a far greater harm. Any such outcome strikes us as flatly inconsistent with an obvious purpose of the MMWA's amount-in-controversy requirement: reserving federal jurisdiction for suits involving substantial disputes. See H.R. Rep. 93-1107, at 42 (1974), reprinted in 1974 U.S.C.C.A.N. 7702, 7724, 1974 WL 11709 (explaining that the purpose of the MMWA's "jurisdictional provisions is to avoid trivial or insignificant actions being brought ... in the federal courts").
WWC does not dispute this point. It argues instead that Pyskaty is not entitled to rescission at all, and therefore cannot rely on the value of such a claim to satisfy the amount-in-controversy requirement, because the contract with WWC limited Pyskaty's remedies to repair or replacement. WWC contends that this purported restriction is enforceable under N.Y.U.C.C. § 2-719, which states that
N.Y.U.C.C. § 2-719(1)(a). We are not convinced.
First, it is not clear that the purchase agreement in fact disclaimed Pyskaty's right to any remedy other than repair or replacement. The contract stated that upon the triggering of one of the express written warranties, WWC would "either repair the Covered Part free of charge," "reimburse [Pyskaty] for the reasonable cost of such repair," or, if WWC were "unable to repair the [V]ehicle after a reasonable number of attempts, ... [provide] a full refund of the purchase price." App'x at 129 (New York State "Limited Lemon Law Warranty"). The contract did not, however, expressly state that those were the sole remedies to which Pyskaty might be entitled. See N.Y.U.C.C. § 2-719(1)(b) ("[R]esort to a remedy as provided is optional unless the remedy is expressly agreed to be exclusive, in which case it is
Second, it seems to us unlikely that parties to a contract may, as a matter of law, contractually limit a buyer's right to the equitable remedy of rescission. By its terms, section 2-719 permits the exclusion of only those remedies that are "recoverable under [N.Y.U.C.C. Article 2]." N.Y.U.C.C. § 2-719(1)(a). Although Article 2 acknowledges the existence of rescission as a remedy for a breach of contract, that remedy — as opposed to the similar, statutory remedy of revocation, see id. §§ 2-608, 2-711 — is not among those whose elements are spelled out in the N.Y. U.C.C. See, e.g., id. § 2-608, cmt. 1 ("The section no longer speaks of `rescission[.]' ... The remedy under this section is instead referred to simply as `revocation of acceptance' of goods tendered under a contract for sale."); id. § 2-721 (noting that "[n]either rescission [n]or a claim for rescission of the contract ... shall bar or be deemed inconsistent with a claim for damages or [any] other remedy" available under Article 2). Moreover, insofar as "the effect of rescission is to declare a contract void from its inception," 16 N.Y. Juris. 2d Cancellation of Instruments § 1 (citing Cty. of Orange v. Grier, 30 A.D.3d 556, 557, 817 N.Y.S.2d 146, 147 (2d Dep't 2006)), it would be odd at best to allow the availability of this remedy to be curtailed by the very contract that the plaintiff seeks to rescind.
Finally, it is the law of this Circuit that there is a "rebuttable presumption that the face of the complaint is a good faith representation of the actual amount in controversy," Colavito, 438 F.3d at 221 (citation omitted), and that "[i]f the right of recovery is uncertain, the doubt should be resolved ... in favor of the subjective good faith of the plaintiff," Tongkook, 14 F.3d at 785-86 (ellipsis in Tongkook) (quoting McDonald v. Patton, 240 F.2d 424, 426 (4th Cir. 1957)). We have also held that "a valid defense does not deprive a federal court of jurisdiction." Zacharia v. Harbor Island Spa, Inc., 684 F.2d 199, 202 (2d Cir. 1982). "Were the law otherwise," we explained, "the orderly progress of litigation would be disrupted, and ... [i]ssues going to a federal court's power to decide would be hopelessly confused with the merits themselves." Id. Therefore, for dismissal to be warranted, "it must appear to a legal certainty from the complaint that the plaintiff cannot recover sufficient damages to invoke federal jurisdiction." Id. (emphasis added) (citing St. Paul Mercury, 303 U.S. 283, 58 S.Ct. 586, 82 S.Ct. 845); see also id. ("[E]ven where [the] allegations leave grave doubt about the likelihood of a recovery of the requisite amount, dismissal is not warranted."); Tongkook, 14 F.3d at 785 ("[T]he legal impossibility of recovery must be so certain as virtually to negative the plaintiff's good faith in asserting the claim." (quoting Patton, 240 F.2d at 426)).
In the case before us, we conclude that "from the face of the pleadings, it is [not] apparent, to a legal certainty, that [Pyskaty] cannot recover [on her rescission claim]." St. Paul Mercury, 303 U.S. at 289, 58 S.Ct. 586.
For the foregoing reasons, the judgment of the district court is