Madsen v. American Federation of Musicians of the United States

13 F. Supp. 3d 820, 2014 WL 1333199, 199 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 3126, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 44427
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Ohio
DecidedApril 1, 2014
DocketCase No. 5:13-CV-2519
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 13 F. Supp. 3d 820 (Madsen v. American Federation of Musicians of the United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Madsen v. American Federation of Musicians of the United States, 13 F. Supp. 3d 820, 2014 WL 1333199, 199 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 3126, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 44427 (N.D. Ohio 2014).

Opinion

ORDER AND OPINION

SARA LIOI, District Judge.

This matter is before the Court on plaintiff Linda Madsen’s motion to remand to the Summit County Court of Common Pleas (Doc. No. 8). Defendant has filed a response (Doc. No. 9), and plaintiff has filed a reply (Doc. No. 15*). Also pending is plaintiffs motion to strike (Doc. No. 11) the affidavit and exhibits submitted by defendant in support of its opposition to the motion to remand (Doc. No. 10). For the reasons set forth below, plaintiffs motion to remand is GRANTED. Plaintiffs motion to strike is DENIED.2

I. Factual Background

Plaintiff Linda Madsen (“Madsen” or “plaintiff’) served as the elected Secretary-Treasurer of Local No. 24 (“the Local” or “defendant”) of the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada (“the International”). (Doc. No. 2 at 11.) At this early stage in the proceedings, Madsen’s date of election as Secretary-Treasurer is unknown; however, record evidence shows that she served in this capacity as far back as October 26, 1999. (Id. at 19.) Madsen vacated the office on February 7, 2011. (Id. at 11.)

[822]*822Madsen claims that the bylaws and standing resolutions of the Local set her salary at $27,469.92 annually, with vacation, holiday and sick leave benefits, as well as contributions to the Local’s pension plan. (Id. at 12.) Per a resolution adopted by the Local’s executive board, Madsen earned sixteen vacation days each year, which could “be taken or carried forward at the discretion of the [Secretary-Treasurer], Unused Vacation Days shall be paid, at a time chosen by the [Secretary-Treasurer], based pro rata per work day on the salary of the [Secretary-Treasurer] at the time of payment.” (Id. at 21.) An April 6, 2006 audit of fiscal year 2005 determined that Madsen had accumulated $7,660.06 in vacation days neither taken by Madsen nor paid by the Local. (Id. at 24.) The Local accepted this audit on June 4, 2006. (Id. at 22.)

When Madsen vacated the Secretary-Treasurer position, she alleges that the Local owed her $13,734.96 in unpaid salary and $5,018.66 in accrued but unpaid vacation days. (Id. at 13.) She sued the Local in the Summit County Court of Common Pleas, seeking $18,753.62, plus interest, liquidated damages, and attorneys’ fees. (Id. at 17.) She asserts five claims against the Local: (1) breach of contract in writing, (2) breach of implied contract, (3) promissory estoppel, (4) unjust enrichment, and (5) failure to remit wages in violation of Ohio Rev.Code § 4113.15. The Local removed the case to this Court, claiming that Mad-sen’s claims are preempted by § 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act (LMRA) because they involve interpretation of labor contracts — the International’s constitution and the Local’s bylaws. Madsen seeks remand to the Summit County Court of Common Pleas, asserting that the LMRA does not apply to the contracts in dispute because her claims arise out of the Local’s bylaws and standing resolutions.

II. Standard of Review

A defendant may remove to federal court only state court actions that originally could have been filed in federal court. Caterpillar, Inc. v. Williams, 482 U.S. 386, 392, 107 S.Ct. 2425, 96 L.Ed.2d 318 (1987). As a court of limited jurisdiction, a federal district court must proceed cautiously in determining that it has subject matter jurisdiction. Musson Theatrical, Inc. v. Fed. Express Corp., 89 F.3d 1244, 1252 (6th Cir.1996). The court must give “due regard” to the power reserved to the states under the United States Constitution to provide for the determination of controversies in the state courts. Shamrock Oil & Gas Corp. v. Sheets, 313 U.S. 100, 108-09, 61 S.Ct. 868, 85 L.Ed. 1214 (1941). Accordingly, removal statutes must be construed strictly to promote comity and preserve jurisdictional boundaries between state and federal courts. Alexander v. Elec. Data Sys. Corp., 13 F.3d 940, 949 (6th Cir.1994). “[A]ll doubts as to the propriety of removal are resolved in favor of remand.” Coyne v. Am. Tobacco Co., 183 F.3d 488, 493 (6th Cir.1999). The defendant seeking removal bears the burden of proving the court’s jurisdiction. See Rogers v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 230 F.3d 868, 871 (6th Cir.2000).

III. Law and Analysis

A. Federal Question Jurisdiction

The parties agree that diversity is incomplete, and therefore cannot provide a basis for federal jurisdiction. The Court has jurisdiction over this case, if at all, if it presents a federal question, i.e., if it “aris[es] under the Constitution, laws, or treaties of the United States.” 28 U.S.C. § 1331. The well-pleaded complaint rule governs federal question cases, extending jurisdiction “over only those cases in which a well-pleaded complaint establishes either [823]*823that federal law creates the cause of action or that the plaintiffs right to relief necessarily depends on resolution of a substantial question of federal law, in that federal law is a necessary element of one of the well pleaded ... elaims[.]” Christianson v. Colt Indus. Operating Corp., 486 U.S. 800, 808, 108 S.Ct. 2166, 100 L.Ed.2d 811 (1988) (internal citation and quotation marks omitted).

The plaintiff is the master of her claim, and may avoid federal jurisdiction by relying exclusively on state law. Beneficial Nat’l Bank v. Anderson, 589 U.S. 1, 12, 123 S.Ct. 2058, 156 L.Ed.2d 1 (2003) (citing Caterpillar, 482 U.S. at 392, 107 S.Ct. 2425). “In particular, the existence of a federal defense normally does not create statutory ‘arising under’ jurisdiction, and a defendant may not [generally] remove a case to federal court unless the plaintiffs complaint establishes that the cases arises under federal law[.]” Aetna Health Inc. v. Davila, 542 U.S. 200, 207, 124 S.Ct. 2488, 159 L.Ed.2d 312 (2004) (internal citations and quotation marks omitted) (alteration and emphasis in original); see also Tisdale v. United Ass’n of Journeymen & Apprentices of Plumbing & Pipefitting Indus, of U.S. & Canada, Local 701, 25 F.3d 1308, 1313 (6th Cir.1994) (defensive assertion of federal labor statute “does not raise a federal question for removal purposes”).

B. The Preemption Exception

Notwithstanding a plaintiffs well-pleaded state law complaint, a defendant may remove a case to federal court “when a federal statute wholly displaces the state-law cause of action through complete preemption.” Beneficial,

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13 F. Supp. 3d 820, 2014 WL 1333199, 199 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 3126, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 44427, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/madsen-v-american-federation-of-musicians-of-the-united-states-ohnd-2014.