Brown v. K-MAC Enterprises

897 F. Supp. 2d 1098, 2012 WL 4321711, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 133633
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Oklahoma
DecidedSeptember 19, 2012
DocketCase No. 12-CV-55-TCK-FHM
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 897 F. Supp. 2d 1098 (Brown v. K-MAC Enterprises) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Brown v. K-MAC Enterprises, 897 F. Supp. 2d 1098, 2012 WL 4321711, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 133633 (N.D. Okla. 2012).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

TERENCE C. KERN, District Judge.

Before the Court are Plaintiffs Motion to Remand (Doc. 12) and Defendants’ Motion for Reconsideration and Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 11).

I. Background

On July 6, 2011, Plaintiff filed a Petition in the District Court for Tulsa County against Defendants K-MAC Enterprises, Inc. (“K-MAC”) and Taco Bell of America, Inc. (“Taco Bell, Inc.”). Plaintiff failed to issue a summons or file a waiver within 90 [1101]*1101days of filing suit. On October 24, 2011, the court entered an order dismissing the case pursuant to Rule 9(a) of the Oklahoma Supreme Court Rules for the District Courts (“Rule 9(a) Order”), which permits a court to dismiss an action for failure to issue summons within 90 days after filing of the petition. See Okla. Stat. tit. 12, Ch. 2, App., Rule 9. On January 13, 2012, Plaintiff filed a motion to vacate the dismissal order (“Motion to Vacate”) in state court, arguing that “at the time of filing, Plaintiff was unsure of the proper defendant in the action due to the complexities of the relationship between K-MAC Enterprises and Taco Bell of America, Incorporated.” (Ex. F to Am. Not. of Removal.) Plaintiff also argued:

This Court dismissed Plaintiffs Petition without prejudice on October 24, 2011 for failure to issue a summons, pursuant to its discretionary power under Rule 9(a) of the Rules for District Courts of Oklahoma. Plaintiffs claims under the ADA, Title VII and ADEA do not allow for Plaintiff to simply re-file her claims, as said claims must be brought within ninety (90) days of the EEOC’s issuance of a Right to Sue letter.1 Plaintiffs original Petition was filed within ninety (90) days from the EEOC’s Right to Sue letter. It appears that this Court’s intention was to dismiss Plaintiffs Petition without prejudice. However, the practical effect of the dismissal is with prejudice as it relates to Plaintiffs Title VII, ADA and ADEA claims, as those claims may not be re-filed more than 90 days after receipt of the EEOC’s Right to Sue letter. Plaintiffs counsel now seeks to have the dismissal vacated. Dismissal of the present matter will cause tremendous hardship to the Plaintiff, as Plaintiff will be precluded from re-filing her Title VII, ADA and ADEA claims.

(Id. (footnote added).) As legal authority for the Motion to Vacate, Plaintiff cited Okla. Stat. tit. 12, § 1031, which sets forth enumerated grounds for vacating orders, decrees, and judgments. Plaintiff did not specify which ground upon which she relied but vaguely argued that “in certain circumstances it is appropriate for the courts to vacate certain orders.” (Id.) The state court granted Plaintiffs Motion to Vacate (“Vacation Order”) on the date it was filed “for good cause shown,” thereby permitting Plaintiff to file an Amended Petition and avoid the running of certain limitation periods. (Ex. G to Am. Not. of Removal.)

On January 17, 2012, Plaintiff filed an Amended Petition against K-MAC and Taco Bell, LLC (“Taco Bell, LLC”) alleging the following causes of action: (1) disability discrimination, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA claim”); (2) race and gender discrimination in violation of Title VII (“Title VII claim”); (3) age discrimination in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (“ADEA claim”); (4) termination in violation of the public policy of Oklahoma (“Burk claim”), (5) denial and interference with the right to exercise Family and Medical Leave Act benefits (“FMLA claim”); (6) retaliation for filing a workers’ compensation claim, in violation of title 85, section 341 of the Oklahoma Statutes (“workers’ compensation retaliation claim”); and (7) intentional infliction of emotional distress (“IIED claim”). On February 9, 2012, Defendants removed the action, asserting [1102]*1102that this Court has subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1331, based upon the claims arising under federal law.

Plaintiff filed a motion to remand all claims based on the presence of the statutorily non-removable workers’ compensation retaliation claim, see 28 U.S.C. § 1445(c), and this Court’s decision in Pulley v. Bartlettr-Collins Co., 2006 WL 3386909, at *3 (N.D.Okla. Nov. 21, 2006) (concluding that all claims joined with non-removable workers’ compensation retaliation claim must be remanded). In response to the motion to remand, Defendant argues that (1) Pulley has been overruled by the Federal Courts Jurisdiction and Venue Clarification Act of 2011 (“FCJVCA”), Pub. L. No. 112-63, § 203(b), 125 Stat. 785, which made relevant changes to 28 U.S.C. § 1441(c) and took effect January 6, 2012; and (2) the revised version of 28 U.S.C. § 1441(c) applies because the Court should consider this action commenced as of January 17, 2012 (date of filing Amended Petition) rather than July 6, 2011 (date of filing original Petition).

II. Motion to Remand (Doc. 11)

This Court’s decision in Pulley has been overruled by statute. See Bivins v. Glanz, No. 12-CV-103, 2012 WL 3136115, at *2 (N.D.Okla. Aug. 1, 2012). As this Court recently explained:

Under the amended 28 U.S.C. § 1441(c)(2), the Court has no discretion to remand federal claims that are joined with a statutorily nonremovable claim, such as a workers’ compensation retaliation claim. Instead, the Court must sever and remand the nonremovable claim and retain all other removed claims that are within the Court’s original or supplemental jurisdiction.

Id. at *2. Thus, if the revised version of 28 U.S.C. § 1441(c) applies in this case, the Court must sever the workers’ compensation retaliation claim and retain all other claims. If the revised version of the statute does not apply, the Court would presumably be free to follow its original reasoning in Pulley and remand all claims.

The Court need not decide whether the case was “commenced” before or after the FCJVCA’s effective date. Based on the reasoning and policy considerations explained in the legislative history of the FCJVCA, the Court has reconsidered its decision in Pulley and would now decide the question in a manner consistent with the federal statute. Specifically, this Court reconsiders its conclusion that “the policy considerations of judicial economy and Plaintiffs choice of forum for the entire case outweigh the right to remove the federal claim under these specific circumstances.” See Pulley, 2006 WL 3386909, at *3. The Court now concludes, consistent with the legislative history of the FCJVCA, that “preserving the defendant’s right to remove claims arising under Federal law” outweighs other competing considerations. See H.R.Rep. No. 112-10 at 12 (2011), 2011 U.S.C.C.A.N. 576, 580.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
897 F. Supp. 2d 1098, 2012 WL 4321711, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 133633, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/brown-v-k-mac-enterprises-oknd-2012.