Northwest Administrators, Inc v. Imerys Minerals California, Inc
Filing
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ORDER declining to sign defendant's 11 Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim; granting plaintiff's 12 Motion to Remand to King County Superior Court; plaintiff to file a supplemental motion for fees and costs within 14 days signed by Judge Ricardo S Martinez.(RS)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT SEATTLE
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NORTHWEST ADMINISTRATORS,
INC.,
Plaintiff,
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) CASE NO. C17-0792RSM
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) ORDER OF REMAND
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v.
IMERYS MINERALS CALIFORNIA,
INC.,
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Defendant.
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I.
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INTRODUCTION
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This matter comes before the Court on Plaintiff’s Motion for Remand and for Fees. Dkt.
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#12. Plaintiff argues that removal to this Court was untimely because Defendant had notice that
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this matter raised federal question jurisdiction both in the original Complaint and in an opposition
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brief filed in state court prior to removal. Id. Defendant responds that its removal was timely
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because it occurred just 10 days after the filing of an Amended Complaint where a federal cause
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of action was asserted for the first time, and that Plaintiff’s “other paper” filed in state court
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simply noted an intent to file a federal claim that did not confer jurisdiction in this Court. Dkt.
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#16. The Court has reviewed the parties’ briefing, along with their supporting exhibits, Plaintiff’s
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Complaint and Defendant’s Notice of Removal. For the reasons set forth herein, this matter is
REMANDED to King County Superior Court.
ORDER
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II.
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BACKGROUND
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Plaintiff served Defendant’s registered agent with the original Summons and Complaint
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in this matter on December 15, 2016. Dkt. #6-1 at 14. Plaintiff filed the Complaint on February
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21, 2017, in the Superior Court of Washington for King County. Dkt. #6-1 at 1-4.
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Defendant then filed a Motion to Dismiss in that Court, noting that Plaintiff had failed to
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allege any legal authority for the relief sought in its Complaint, arguing that Plaintiff appeared to
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be asserting a claim under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”),
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and seeking dismissal of the Complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Dkt. #6-1 at 17-
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21. In its opposition to the Motion to Dismiss, Plaintiff explained that it was not suing under
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ERISA, but that “Northwest is suing Imerys under Section 301(a) of the Taft-Hartley Act, 29
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U.S.C. § 185(a), [also known as the Labor Management Relations Act (“LMRA”),] for a breach
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of contract claim based on the CBA between Imerys and Teamsters Local 760.” Dkt. #6-2 at 25
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(emphasis added). Ultimately, the state court ordered Plaintiff to file an Amended Complaint
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setting forth a claim under Section 301 and denied the motion to dismiss. Dkt. #6-3 at 34.
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On May 12, 2017, Plaintiff filed and served its Amended Complaint. Dkt. #1-1. The
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Amended Complaint set forth a claim under Section 301(a) of the LMRA. Defendant removed
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the action to this Court on May 22, 2017. Dkt. #1. Defendant then filed a Motion to Dismiss for
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failure to state a claim. Dkt. #11. The instant Motion to Remand followed.
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III.
DISCUSSION
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A. Subject Matter Jurisdiction
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Federal courts are courts of limited subject matter jurisdiction. Kokkonen v. Guardian
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Life Ins. Co. of Am., 511 U.S. 375, 377, 114 S. Ct. 1673, 128 L. Ed. 2d 391 (1994). When a case
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is filed in state court, removal is proper if the Complaint raises a federal question or where there
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ORDER
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is diversity of citizenship between the parties and the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000.
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28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1332(a). It is presumed, however, “‘that a cause lies outside [the] limited
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jurisdiction [of the federal courts] and the burden of establishing the contrary rests upon the party
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asserting jurisdiction.’” Hunter v. Philip Morris USA, 582 F.3d 1039, 1042 (9th Cir. 2009)
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(quoting Abrego Abrego v. Dow Chem. Co., 443 F.3d 676, 684 (9th Cir. 2006) (per curiam)
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(citing Kokkonen v. Guardian Life Ins. Co. of Am., 511 U.S. 375, 377 (1994)) (alterations in
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original). This Court must order remand if there is any defect which causes federal jurisdiction
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to fail. 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c). The removal statutes are construed restrictively, and any doubts
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about removability are resolved in favor of remanding the case to state court. Gaus v. Miles, Inc.,
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980 F.2d 564, 566 (9th Cir. 1992). On a motion to remand, the removing defendant bears the
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burden of establishing that removal was proper by a preponderance of evidence. Id. at 567;
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Sanchez v. Monumental Life Ins. Co., 102 F.3d 398, 403-04 (9th Cir. 1996). However, this Court
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lacks discretion to remand a case to the state court if the case was properly removed. Carpenters
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S. Cal. Admin. Corp. v. Majestic Hous., 743 F.2d 1341, 1343 (9th Cir. 1984), abrogated in part
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on other grounds, Southern Cal. IBEW-NECA Trust Funds v. Standard Indus. Elec. Co., 247
F.3d 920, 924 n.6 (9th Cir. 2001).
B. Timeliness of Removal
Under 28 U.S.C. § 1446(b), a notice of removal must be filed within 30 days of receipt
of the initial pleading, or, if the case stated by the initial pleading is not removable, within 30
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days after receipt by the defendant, through service or otherwise, of a copy of an amended
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pleading, motion, order or other paper from which it may be first ascertained that the case is one
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which has become removable.
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ORDER
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For the reasons set forth by Defendant, the Court agrees that Plaintiff’s initial Complaint
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was not removable. See Dkt. #16 at 4-6 Thus, the Court turns to Plaintiff’s argument that the
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removal was untimely because its state court opposition brief is an “other paper” which first
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disclosed the basis for federal court jurisdiction.
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As noted above, Plaintiff stated in its opposition to the motion to dismiss in state court
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that it was suing Defendant under Section 301(a) of the Taft-Hartley Act, 29 U.S.C. § 185(a), for
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a breach of contract claim based on the CBA between Imerys and Teamsters Local 760.” Dkt.
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#6-2 at 25. That brief provided clear notice to Defendant that a federal question was being raised
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by Plaintiff. Defendant’s argument that the brief merely reflected “an intent” to raise a federal
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claim is not persuasive. The Ninth Circuit has made clear that discovery documents, briefing,
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and similar other items qualify as “other paper” sufficient for a defendant to ascertain that an
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action has become removable under § 1446(b)(3). See, e.g., Eyak Native Village v. Exxon Corp.,
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25 F.3d 773, 779 (9th Cir. 1994); Cantrell v. Great Republic Ins. Co., 873 F.2d 1249, 1255 (9th
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Cir. 1989). Likewise, so long as the “other paper” reasonably reflects Plaintiff’s claim, it triggers
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the second thirty day removal period. See Babasa v. LensCrafters, Inc., 498 F.3d 972, 975 (9th
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Cir. 2007). Accordingly, at the latest, Plaintiff’s April 5, 2017 opposition to the motion to dismiss
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triggered the 30-day period under Section 1446(b)(3), requiring the Defendant to file its Notice
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of Removal by May 5, 2017. However, Defendant did not remove until May 22, 2017, and
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therefore removal was untimely. As a result, the Court grants Plaintiff’s motion to remand.
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C. Request for Attorney’s Fees and Costs
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Plaintiff has also sought its reasonable fees and costs incurred in connection with its
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motion for remand and in response to Defendant’s pending motion to dismiss. Dkt. #12 at 8-9.
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“An order remanding the case may require payment of just costs and any actual expenses,
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ORDER
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including attorney fees, incurred as a result of the removal.” § 1447(c). While attorney’s fees are
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available, it is clear that “[a]bsent unusual circumstances, attorney’s fees should not be awarded
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when the removing party has an objectively reasonable basis for removal.” Patel v. Del Taco,
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Inc., 446 F.3d 996, 999 (9th Cir. 2006) (citation omitted). In this case, the Court agrees with
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Plaintiff that Defendant had no objectively reasonable basis for removal. Basic legal research
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into what constitutes an “other paper” for removal purposes would have revealed that Plaintiff’s
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opposition triggered the removal period and therefore Defendant’s removal after May 5th was
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untimely. Accordingly, the Court grants Plaintiff’s request for fees and costs.
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IV.
CONCLUSION
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Having reviewed the relevant pleadings, the declarations and exhibits attached thereto,
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and the remainder of the record, the Court hereby ORDERS:
1) Plaintiff’s Motion to Remand (Dkt. #12) is GRANTED, and this case is REMANDED
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to the King County Superior Court.
2) No later than fourteen (14) days from the date of this Order, Plaintiff shall file a
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supplemental motion for fees and costs in this Court, appending the evidence
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necessary to support its request. Plaintiff shall note the motion for two Fridays
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after the date it is filed. Defendant shall respond no later than the Monday prior to
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the noting date, and shall limit its response only to the issue of the reasonableness of
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the fees and costs sought by Plaintiff. No Reply brief shall be filed.
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3) The Court DECLINES to address Defendant’s pending Motion to Dismiss (Dkt. #11),
and it shall be removed from the Court’s motion calendar.
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4) This matter is now CLOSED.
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ORDER
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DATED this 25 day of July, 2017.
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A
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RICARDO S. MARTINEZ
CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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ORDER
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