Jackson v. Wal-Mart Stores Texas, LLC

925 F. Supp. 2d 810, 2013 WL 658124, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 33627
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Texas
DecidedFebruary 25, 2013
DocketCivil Action No. 3:12-CV-2155-N
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 925 F. Supp. 2d 810 (Jackson v. Wal-Mart Stores Texas, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Jackson v. Wal-Mart Stores Texas, LLC, 925 F. Supp. 2d 810, 2013 WL 658124, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 33627 (N.D. Tex. 2013).

Opinion

[812]*812 ORDER

DAVID C. GODBEY, District Judge.

This Order addresses Plaintiff Saidrick Jackson’s motion to remand [Doc. 5]. The Court grants the motion and remands the entire case but denies Jackson’s request for attorneys’ fees.1

I.Jackson’s State-Court Petition and Wal-Mart’s Removal

This case arises out of the termination of Jackson’s employment with Defendant Wal-Mart Stores Texas, LLC (“WalMart”). Jackson sued Wal-Mart pro se in state court. He alleged that WalMart violated Texas Labor Code § 451.001 by firing him in retaliation for filing a workers’ compensation claim. After subsequently retaining counsel, Jackson asserted claims against Wal-Mart for race discrimination and retaliation in violation of the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act (“TCHRA”). Wal-Mart subsequently removed the case to this Court on the sole basis of diversity jurisdiction. Jackson now moves to remand the case to state court.

II.Standard of Review

A defendant may remove a state court action to federal court only if the action originally could have been brought in federal court. 28 U.S.C. § 1441(a). The removing defendant bears the burden of establishing federal jurisdiction. Winters v. Diamond Shamrock Chem. Co., 149 F.3d 387, 397 (5th Cir.1998). A federal court has subject matter jurisdiction over primarily two types of cases: (1) those “arising under the Constitution, laws, or treaties of the United States” (“federal question” jurisdiction), 28 U.S.C. § 1331, and (2) those in which the parties are residents of different states and the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000 (“diversity” jurisdiction). Id. § 1331. “Because removal raises significant federalism concerns, the removal statute is strictly construed ‘and any doubt as to the propriety of removal should be resolved in favor of remand.’ ” Gutierrez v. Flores, 543 F.3d 248, 251 (5th Cir.2008) (quoting In re Hot-Hed, Inc., 477 F.3d 320, 323 (5th Cir.2007)). A district court must remand a case if, at any time before final judgment, it appears that the court lacks subject matter jurisdiction. 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c).

III.The Court Remands the Entire Case

The parties do not appear to dispute that the Court should remand Jackson’s workers’ compensation claim. They disagree, however, about how the Court should treat Jackson’s remaining claims. Jackson urges the Court to remand the entire action; Wal-Mart contends that the Court should sever and remand the workers’ compensation claim but retain the rest. The Fifth Circuit has not spoken to the question before the Court. Based on the plain text of the removal statute and the policies underlying it, however, and resolving all doubts in favor of remand, the Court concludes that remand of the entire case is proper.

As a general matter, diversity jurisdiction provides a federal district court with original jurisdiction. 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a). The removal statute allows a defendant to remove a case as follows:

Except as otherwise expressly provided by Act of Congress, any civil action brought in a State court of which the district courts of the United States have original jurisdiction, may be removed by the defendant or the defendants, to the district court of the United States for the district and division embracing the place where such action is pending.

[813]*81328 U.S.C. § 1441(a) (emphasis added). The Court concludes that, under a plain reading of the statute’s text, the phrase “civil action” refers to an entire case rather a separate causes of action within a case. Accord Carey v. Bank of Am., N.A., 904 F.Supp.2d 617, 619-20, 2012 WL 5503838, at *2 (N.D.Tex.2012); Escobedo v. Time Warner Entm’t Advance Newhouse P’ship, 811 F.Supp.2d 1289, 1292 (W.D.Tex.2011); Horn v. Kmart Corp., No. 1:06-CV-493, 2007 WL 1138473, at *4 (S.D.Ohio Apr. 16, 2007); Wilson v. Lowe’s Home Ctr., Inc., 401 F.Supp.2d 186, 192 (D.Conn.2005). Moreover, the Supreme Court has noted that “[t]he language of this section obviously permits the removal of a case that contains only claims that ‘arise under’ federal law.” Wis. Dept, of Corr. v. Schacht, 524 U.S. 381, 386, 118 S.Ct. 2047, 141 L.Ed.2d 364 (1998) (emphasis added). This passage suggests that, while a defendant’s ability to remove a case is based on individual claims, it may remove only an entire case, not individual claims within a case.

As other courts have noted, the legislative history of the statute bolsters this interpretation of its meaning. The Revision Notes from 1948 state that “[pjhrases such as ‘in suits of a civil nature, at law or in equity,’ the words ‘case,’ ‘cause,’ ‘suit,’ and the like have been omitted and the words ‘civil action’ substituted in harmony with Rules 2 and 81(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.” 28 U.S.C. § 1441(a) (Revision Note 1948). Rule 2 states that “[t]here is one form of action— the civil action,” and Rule 81(c) refers to both “a civil action” and “a claim for relief.” Both of these references further suggest that a “civil action” is an entire case or suit, not a single claim or cause of action. Section 1441(a) thus applies to cases as a whole and provides no authority for severing individual claims. Accord Carey, 904 F.Supp.2d at 619-20, 2012 WL 5503838, at *2; Escobedo, 811 F.Supp.2d at 1292.

The removal statute provides that Congress may expressly limit removal. Pursuant to that authority, Congress has provided that “[a] civil action in any State court arising under the workmen’s compensation laws of such State may not be removed to any district court of the United States.” 28 U.S.C. § 1445(c). The Fifth Circuit has held that a “claim of retaliatory termination under § 451.001 is a claim arising under Texas worker’s compensation laws.” Sherrod v. Am. Airlines, Inc., 132 F.3d 1112, 1118 (5th Cir.1998) (citing Jones v. Roadway Express, Inc., 931 F.2d 1086, 1092 (5th Cir.1991)). The parties do not dispute that section 1445(c) makes Jackson’s retaliatory termination claim under section 451.001 nonremovable. They dispute, however, whether the Court must therefore remand the entire case, or whether it has the authority to sever and remand the workers’ compensation claim.

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925 F. Supp. 2d 810, 2013 WL 658124, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 33627, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jackson-v-wal-mart-stores-texas-llc-txnd-2013.