Opinion
2:22-cv-01304-RGK-E
03-01-2022
Jose Valladares v. Smithfield Packaged Meats Corp.
Proceedings:(IN CHAMBERS) Order Remanding Action to State Court
PRESENT: THE HONORABLE R. GARY KLAUSNER, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
CIVIL MINUTES - GENERAL
HONORABLE R. GARY KLAUSNER, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
On January 25, 2022, Jose Valladares ("Plaintiff) filed a complaint against Smithfield Packaged Meats Corporation ("Defendant") hi state court, claiming wrongful termination and various labor law violations. Plaintiff seeks damages for lost income and emotional distress, $1,500 in civil penalties, punitive damages, and attorneys' fees. (Compl. at 13, ECF No. 1-1.) Defendant removed the case to federal court on diversity jurisdiction grounds (28 U.S.C. § 1332). (Notice of Removal, ECF No. 1.) Upon review of Defendant's Notice of Removal, the Court hereby REMANDS the action for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.
$750 for two violations of California Labor Code §§ 226 and 1198.5
Title 28 U.S.C. § 1441(a) authorizes defendants to remove a case to federal court when the federal court would have had original jurisdiction over the case. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1332, district courts have original jurisdiction over any civil action in which the parties are citizens of different states, and the action involves an amount in controversy that exceeds $75,000. A defendant's notice of removal must include a "plausible allegation that the amount in controversy exceeds the jurisdictional threshold." Dart Cherokee Basin Operating Co. v. Owens, 574 U.S. 81, 89 (2014); see also Acad, of Country Music v. Cont'l Cas. Co., 991 F.3d 1059, 1068 (9th Cir. 2021).
Here, Defendant does not plausibly allege that the amount hi controversy exceeds the jurisdictional threshold. Defendant calculates Plaintiffs potential back pay based on Plaintiffs hourly wage at the time of his employment. At $634 per week, over 81 weeks since Plaintiff was terminated. Plaintiff s back pay amounts to $51,354. (Notice of Removal ¶¶ 23.) Defendant calculates an additional $32,968 of potential front pay ($634 per week over 52 weeks), speculating that this matter will not be resolved until January 2023. (Id. ¶¶ 23, 25.) With $51,354 as a starting point, plus $1,500 in civil penalties, and only speculative argument regarding additional front pay, emotional distress damages, punitive damages, and attorneys' fees, Defendant fails to plausibly allege that the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000.
$15.85 per hour at 40 horns per week
Accordingly, the Court REMANDS this action to state court for all further proceedings.
IT IS SO ORDERED.