McNeal v. Arcelormittal USA, Inc.

143 F. Supp. 3d 241, 204 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 3636, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 152975, 2015 WL 7014654
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedNovember 12, 2015
DocketCIVIL ACTIONS NO. 15-03517; NO. 15-03534
StatusPublished

This text of 143 F. Supp. 3d 241 (McNeal v. Arcelormittal USA, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
McNeal v. Arcelormittal USA, Inc., 143 F. Supp. 3d 241, 204 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 3636, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 152975, 2015 WL 7014654 (E.D. Pa. 2015).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM

PAPPERT, District Judge.

Plaintiffs Matthew McNeal (“McNeal”), Sean Flood (“Flood”), and Mark Tarloski (“Tarloski”) (collectively “Plaintiffs”) filed this lawsuit in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas after they sustained significant injuries at a steel plant owned and operated by defendants Arce-lorMittal USA, LLC (“AM USA”) and its subsidiary, ArcelorMittal Plate LLC (“AM Plate”) (collectively “Defendants”).

Defendants removed the lawsuit to this Court on the grounds that federal law preempts Plaintiffs’ claims. Before the Court are three motions: Plaintiffs’ motions to remand and Defendants’ motion to dismiss the complaint. All motions present the same issues, namely whether this Court has subject-matter jurisdiction pursuant to Section 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act (“LMRA”). For the reasons set forth below, the Court grants Plaintiffs’ motions to remand and denies Defendants’ motion to dismiss as moot.

I.

On May 23, 2013, Plaintiffs were working at the ArcelorMittal Plant in Coates-ville, Pennsylvania (the “Steel Plant”). (McNeal Mot. to Remand Exh. D (“Compl.”) .¶ 1, ECF No. 27.) They were helping to load material into an electric furnace when it “exploded and spewed molten metal,” causing “severe and debilitating injuries to Plaintiffs.” (Id. ¶¶ 1, 3, 4.)

AM USA and AM Plate owned and operated the Steel Plant. (Id. ¶ 48; Mem. Mot. to Dismiss, ECF No. 4.) AM USA and the United Steelworkers Union were parties to a September 1, 2012 Collective Bargaining Agreement (“CBA”), which was in effect at the time of the explosion.1 [243]*243(Mem. Mot. to Dismiss Exh. A, ECF No. 4.) The parties dispute who employed Plaintiffs, and who operated and/or controlled the safety operations at the Steel Plant. (McNeal Mot. to Remand, ECF No. 27.)

Plaintiffs filed a Writ of Summons on May 31, 2013 in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas. (Id. at Exh. B.) That action was discontinued without prejudice, and Plaintiffs filed a new Writ of Summons on February 3, 2015. (Id. at Exh. C.) Plaintiffs filed motions for pre-complaint discovery before ultimately filing a complaint on May 22, 2015 against a number of parties, including AM USA and AM Plate.2 (Id. ¶ 3.) The allegations were based on the injuries Plaintiffs suffered in the explosion.3 The 36-count complaint asserts, among other things, negligence against AM USA and AM Plate for failing to “provide a reasonably safe environment, free from hazards and unseen dangers and conditions.” (Compl. ¶ 54.) The negligence count contains 59 separate allegations of negligent conduct against AM USA and AM Plate, including “failing to adequately maintain the electric arc furnace on the premises” and “failing.to provide proper training to its employees regarding proper safety techniques.” Plaintiffs allege in sub-paragraph, (bbb) that Defendants “violated] the Collective Bargaining Agreement[.]” (Id.)

On June 22, 2015, AM USA and AM Plate removed the case to this Court. (ECF No. 1.) Defendants contend that Section 301 of the LMRA completely preempts Plaintiffs’ common law negligence claims because those claims are based on an interpretation of the CBA. (Id.) Shortly after filing their notice of removal, Defendants filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that because Plaintiffs’ claims are “inextricably intertwined” with the terms of the CBA, they must be adjudicated pursuant to the “mandatory grievance and arbitration procedure” as set forth in that agreement.4 (ECF No. 4.) Plaintiffs then filed motions to remand to state court.5 (ECF- Nos. 27, 31.) Their motions are predicated on the same arguments as their opposition to Defendants’ motion to dismiss: That their claims against AM USA and AM Plate do not require the interpretation of the CBA, and [244]*244are not based on violations of the CBA, but rather violations of state common law.6 (ECF No. 27.) The Court held oral argument on the motions to remand, on November 9, 2015.

II.

A civil action brought in a state court may be removed to the district court in the district where the state action is pending if the district court had original jurisdiction over the case. 28 U.S.C. § 1441. The removing party bears the burden of demonstrating that the district court has jurisdiction. Samuel-Bassett v. KIA Motors Am., Inc., 357 F.3d 392, 396 (3d Cir.2004). “The defendant’s right to remove and the plaintiffs right to choose the forum are not equal, and uncertainties are resolved in favor of remand.” 16 James Wm. Moore et al., Moore’s Federal Practice § 107.05 (3d ed. 2003) (internal cross-reference omitted); Steel Valley Auth. v. Union Switch & Signal Div., 809 F.2d 1006, 1010 (3d Cir.1987) (“the removal statutes are to be strictly construed against removal and all doubts should be resolved in favor of remand.”). If there is any doubt as to the propriety of removal, that case should not be removed to federal court. Brown v. Francis, 75 F.3d 860, 865 (3d Cir.1996) (citing Boyer v. Snap-On tools Corp., 913 F.2d 108, 111 (3d Cir.1990); Abels v. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co., 770 F.2d 26, 29 (3d Cir.1995)).

When the basis of removal is federal question jurisdiction, the propriety of the removal rests on whether plaintiffs well-pleaded complaint raises claims that arise under federal law. Caterpillar, Inc. v. Williams, 482 U.S. 386, 392, 107 S.Ct. 2425, 96 L.Ed.2d 318 (1987). While a defendant does have a right, given by statute, to remove in certain situations, plaintiff is still the master of his own claim. Id. at 391, 107 S.Ct. 2425. Under the “well-pleaded complaint rule,” federal jurisdiction “exists only when a federal question is presented on the face of the plaintiffs properly pleaded complaint.” Id. The doctrine of complete preemption, however, serves as an exception to the well-pleaded complaint rule. This doctrine dictates that once an area of state law is preempted by federal law, “any claim purportedly based on that pre-empted state law is considered, from its inception, a federal claim, and therefore arises under federal law.” Id. at 393, 107 S.Ct. 2425. “Thus, a state claim may be removed to federal court ... when a federal statute wholly displaces the state-law cause of action through complete preemption.” Beneficial Nat. Bank v. Anderson, 539 U.S. 1, 8, 123 S.Ct. 2058, 156 L.Ed.2d 1 (2003).

Where a plaintiff alleges a breach of a collective-bargaining agreement, federal jurisdiction is proper since Section 301 of the LMRA confers upon federal courts exclusive jurisdiction to enforce labor contracts. See 29 U.S.C.

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143 F. Supp. 3d 241, 204 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 3636, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 152975, 2015 WL 7014654, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mcneal-v-arcelormittal-usa-inc-paed-2015.