Ania Karwan v. Polish National Alliance,Lodged 3193, Inc et al

Filing 18

ORDER by Judge Cormac J. Carney: granting 12 MOTION to Remand Case to State Court. Case Remanded to Superior Court of California, County of Orange 30-2017-00917619-CU-OE-CJC. MD JS-6. Case Terminated. (twdb)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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SOUTHERN DIVISION

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ANIA KARWAN,

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Plaintiff,

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v.
POLISH NATIONAL ALLIANCE,
LODGE 3193, INC., ET AL.,
Defendants.

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Case No.: SACV 17-02129-CJC(KESx)

ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF’S
MOTION TO REMAND AND
DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION
FOR ATTORNEYS’ FEES

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I. INTRODUCTION & BACKGROUND

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On May 1, 2017, Plaintiff Ania Karwan filed this action in the Superior Court of

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California, County of Orange. (Dkt. 1-2.) Plaintiff brings causes of action for unpaid

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wages, unpaid overtime, missed meal and rest breaks, failure to pay wages upon
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termination, reimbursement, violation of the California Unfair Competition Law, and

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retaliation. (Dkt. 1-4 [Second Amended Complaint, hereinafter “SAC”].)

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In the operative Second Amended Complaint, Plaintiff named as Defendants Polish

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National Alliance, Lodge 3139, Inc. (“Lodge”) and Polish National Alliance of the

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United States of North America (“PNA”). Plaintiff then voluntarily dismissed Lodge on

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November 7, 2017. On December 5, 2017, PNA, the sole remaining Defendant, removed

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the action to this Court. (Dkt. 1.) In its notice of removal, PNA invoked this Court’s

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diversity jurisdiction. (Id.)

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Plaintiff alleges that she has been employed by Defendants since 2013. (SAC ¶

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11.) Plaintiff alleges that for four years, Defendants “systematically denied [Plaintiff] the

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basic minimum wage and overtime compensation and other employee benefits to which

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she is entitled under applicable law.” (Id. ¶ 10.) Plaintiff further alleges that Defendants

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“will likely take the position that [Plaintiff] was not an employee, but an independent

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contractor.” (Id. ¶ 14.) Plaintiff seeks actual damages, statutory damages, and

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declaratory relief. (See generally id.) Plaintiff does not state an amount in controversy

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nor is the amount apparent from her factual allegations. (Id.)

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Plaintiff now moves to remand the action to state court. (Dkt. 12 [hereinafter,

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“Mot.”].) Plaintiff does not dispute the parties’ diversity of citizenship, but asserts that

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PNA has failed to establish the amount in controversy requirement. (Id. at 2.) Because

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the Court agrees that PNA has failed to meet its burden, Plaintiff’s motion to remand is

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GRANTED.1 Plaintiff’s concurrent motion for attorneys’ fees is DENIED.

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Having read and considered the papers presented by the parties, the Court finds this matter appropriate
for disposition without a hearing. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 78; Local Rule 7-15. Accordingly, the hearing set
for February 12, 2018, at 1:30 p.m. is hereby vacated and off calendar.
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II. LEGAL STANDARD

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A civil action brought in a state court, but over which a federal court may exercise

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original jurisdiction, may be removed by the defendant to a federal district court. 28

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U.S.C. § 1441(a). The burden of establishing subject matter jurisdiction falls on the

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defendant, and the removal statute is strictly construed against removal jurisdiction.

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Gaus v. Miles, Inc., 980 F.2d 564, 566 (9th Cir. 1992) (“Federal jurisdiction must be

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rejected if there is any doubt as to the right of removal in the first instance.”).

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A federal court has diversity jurisdiction over a civil action between citizens of

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different states, so long as the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000. 28 U.S.C. § 1332.

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If at any time before final judgment, the court determines that it is without subject matter

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jurisdiction, the action shall be remanded to state court. 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c).

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When a defendant invokes diversity jurisdiction and “the complaint does not

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contain any specific amount of damages sought, the [defendant] bears the burden of

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showing, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the amount in controversy exceeds the

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statutory amount.” Lewis v. Verizon Commc’ns, Inc., 627 F.3d 395, 397 (9th Cir. 2010).

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“Removal cannot be based simply upon conclusory allegations.” Singer v. State Farm

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Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 116 F.3d 373, 377 (9th Cir. 1997) (citation and quotation omitted).

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“This traditional rule of burden allocation to determine removal jurisdiction comports

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with the Supreme Court’s view that ‘the dominant note in the successive enactments of

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Congress relating to diversity jurisdiction is one of jealous restriction, of avoiding offense

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to state sensitiveness, and of relieving the federal courts of the overwhelming burden of

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business that intrinsically belongs to the state courts in order to keep them free for their

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distinctive federal business.’” Lewis, 627 F.3d at 399 (quotation omitted) (citing

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Indianapolis v. Chase Nat’l Bank, 314 U.S. 63, 76 (1941)).

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III. DISCUSSION

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1. Motion to Remand

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Plaintiff argues that PNA has failed to meet its burden of showing, by a

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preponderance of the evidence, that the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000. Plaintiff

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explains that it provided a valuation of damages when it served PNA with an Offer to

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Compromise pursuant to California Code of Civil Procedure Section 998. (Dkt. 12-1 Ex.

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A.) The Offer to Compromise was served on July 24, 2017, prior to removal, and offered

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to settle the case for $12,000. (Id.) Plaintiff asserts that this Offer to Compromise

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demonstrates that the $75,000 amount in controversy requirement is not satisfied.

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PNA offers no evidence to challenge Plaintiff’s assertion. Instead, PNA offers

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various calculations of damages that are based on mere assumptions. (Dkt. 13

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[Opposition, hereinafter “Opp.”] at 11–12.) For example, PNA assumes that Plaintiff is

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seeking $166,400 on her first cause of action for failure to pay minimum wages. (Id. at

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11.) PNA states that this is the amount due to Plaintiff for 208 weeks of work if her wage

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was ten dollars per hour and she worked five days a week for eight hours a day. (Id.)

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PNA offers no evidence of Plaintiff’s actual wages or hours worked. Instead, PNA’s

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calculation is based on the unwarranted assumption that Plaintiff worked full-time for

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four years and was not paid for any time worked. PNA conducts similar unsupported

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calculations for Plaintiff’s other causes of actions, and concludes that “Plaintiff’s

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employment allegations total $214,880.” (Id. at 12.)

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PNA also provides its view of the potential attorneys’ fees and punitive damages in

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dispute, but these representations are unsupported by evidence. With respect to

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attorneys’ fees, PNA merely submits a general, conclusory statement from its attorney

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that “the attorneys’ fees request alone from a prevailing plaintiff in this type of action
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will regularly and readily exceed the sum of $75,000.” (Dkt. 15 [Declaration of Michael

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Hood] ¶ 6.) The statement is not supported by any analysis of the facts and claims at

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issue in this case.2 PNA provides even less with respect to punitive damages. (Opp. at

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14–15.) PNA simply posits that “the very existence of a prayer for punitive damages

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plausibly shows the amount in controversy to be greater than the jurisdictional

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requirement.” (Id.) Again, PNA offers no evidence in support, and does not engage in

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any analysis of how the facts and circumstances of the instant case meet the amount in

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controversy requirement.

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PNA has not met its burden to establish, by a preponderance of the evidence, the

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amount in controversy in this case. PNA has offered no evidence to support its

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calculations. Moreover, PNA has offered no evidence to dispute Plaintiff’s argument that

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her Offer to Compromise reflects a valuation of her damages. Because PNA has failed to

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produce any contrary evidence, the Court can only conclude that the settlement offer of

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$12,000 reflects a reasonable estimate of Plaintiff’s claims. Cohn v. Petsmart, Inc., 281

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F.3d 837, 840 (9th Cir. 2002) (holding that a settlement letter reflected a reasonable

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estimate of the plaintiff’s claim absent any contrary evidence). Consequently, the Court

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lacks subject matter jurisdiction over the claims.

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2. Motion for Attorneys’ Fees

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Plaintiff requests an award of attorneys’ fees under 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c) for

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bringing the motion to remand. (Mot. at 4.) “[A]bsent unusual circumstances, attorney’s

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fees should not be awarded [under Section 1447(c)] when the removing party has an

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objectively reasonable basis for removal.” Martin v. Franklin Capital Corp., 546 U.S.

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132, 136 (2005). The Court finds that attorneys’ fees are not warranted here.

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PNA also cites case law, purportedly in support of its assertion. But PNA provides no analysis
explaining how the cases it cites are analogous to the instant case.
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Although PNA has failed to prove the amount in controversy requirement, there is

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no indication that the removal was frivolous. It was objectively reasonable for PNA to be

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uncertain, at the time of removal, about the amount of damages at issue. Plaintiff’s

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pleadings do not indicate the amount of damages requested and Plaintiff has not

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stipulated to limit her damages. Of course, Plaintiff is not required to take either action.

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But because Plaintiff has not done so, it was objectively reasonable for PNA to attempt to

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remove the action.

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IV. CONCLUSION

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For the foregoing reasons, Plaintiff’s motion to remand is GRANTED and
Plaintiff’s motion for attorneys’ fees is DENIED.

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DATED:

February 8, 2018
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CORMAC J. CARNEY

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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