Eric Holloway v. Centinela Skilled Nursing & Wellness Centre West, LLC

• Court: District Court, C.D. California
• Decided: August 4, 2021
• Docket: 2:21-cv-06106
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA CIVIL MINUTES—GENERAL

Case No. CV 21-6106-DMG (AGRx) Date August 4, 2021

Title Eric Holloway, et al. v. Centinela Skilled Nursing & Wellness Centre Page 1 of 2 West, LLC, et al.

Present: The Honorable DOLLY M. GEE, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

KANE TIEN NOT REPORTED Deputy Clerk Court Reporter

Attorneys Present for Plaintiff(s) Attorneys Present for Defendant(s) None Present None Present

Proceedings: IN CHAMBERS—ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE WHY THIS ACTION SHOULD NOT BE REMANDED TO LOS ANGELES COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT

On May 12, 2021, Plaintiff Eric Holloway, by and through his successor-in-interest Shalimah Abdullah, and Shalimah Abdullah, individually, filed a Complaint in Los Angeles County Superior Court against Centinela Skilled Nursing & Wellness Centre West, LLC, Brius Management Co, and Tamar Rechnitz, alleging claims for (1) elder neglect in violation of California Welfare and Institutions Code section 15600 et seq.; (2) violation of patient rights under California Health & Safety Code § 1430(b); (3) negligence; and (4) wrongful death.1 [Doc. # 1- 1.] On July 28, 2021, Defendants removed the action to this Court, asserting federal question jurisdiction under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (“PREP”) Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 247d-6d, 247d-6e, and federal officer removal jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. section 1442(a)(1). Not. of Removal (“NOR”) at ¶¶ 10, 44 [Doc. # 1].

This Court has previously held in a similar case that the PREP Act is not a complete preemption statute and that assertion of a defense under the PREP Act does not suffice to confer federal question subject matter jurisdiction over a removed action under 28 U.S.C. sections 1331 and 1441. See Padilla v. Brookfield Healthcare Ctr., No. CV 21-2062-DMG (ASX), 2021 WL 1549689, at *2-6 (C.D. Cal. Apr. 19, 2021). Moreover, in a case cited in Padilla, Lyons v. Cucumber Holdings, LLC, No. CV 20-10571-JFW (JPRx), 2021 WL 364640 (C.D. Cal. Feb. 3, 2021), another court in this district found no federal officer removal jurisdiction for a defendant nursing facility and company owner based solely on implementation of federal COVID-19 policies. Id. at *3.

1 Saidah Holloway, Akbar Abdullah, and Riheim Holloway are Nominal Defendants to the wrongful death claim. UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA CIVIL MINUTES—GENERAL

Title Eric Holloway, et al. v. Centinela Skilled Nursing & Wellness Centre Page 2 of 2 West, LLC, et al.

In light of the reasoning set forth in Padilla and Lyons, the Court hereby ORDERS Defendants to SHOW CAUSE why this case should not be remanded to Los Angeles County Superior Court for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Defendants shall file a response by no later than August 11, 2021. Failure to timely file a satisfactory response by this date will result in the remand of this action to state court.

IT IS SO ORDERED.