Munger v. Cascade Steel Rolling Mills, Inc.

332 F. Supp. 3d 1280
CourtDistrict Court, D. Oregon
DecidedSeptember 18, 2018
DocketCase No. 3:18-cv-970-SI
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 332 F. Supp. 3d 1280 (Munger v. Cascade Steel Rolling Mills, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Munger v. Cascade Steel Rolling Mills, Inc., 332 F. Supp. 3d 1280 (D. Or. 2018).

Opinion

Michael H. Simon, United States District Judge

Plaintiff, Joseph J. Munger, Sr. ("Munger"), formerly was employed by Defendant, Cascade Steel Rolling Mills, Inc. ("Cascade"). After Cascade terminated Munger's employment based on asserted violations of its attendance policy, Munger filed a grievance with his union, challenging Cascade's employment action. Munger's union grieved his challenge under the collective bargaining agreement between Cascade and the union, requiring the parties to engage in binding arbitration. After a hearing, the arbitrator ruled in favor of Cascade, finding that Cascade had just cause to terminate Munger's employment and dismissing Munger's grievance. Munger then filed this lawsuit in federal court. Cascade moves to dismiss solely under Rule 12(b)(1) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, arguing that Munger lacks standing thus depriving this Court of subject matter jurisdiction. Cascade reserves all other defenses for another time. For the reasons that follow, the Court denies Cascade's motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.

STANDARDS

Federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction. Gunn v. Minton , 568 U.S. 251, 256, 133 S.Ct. 1059, 185 L.Ed.2d 72 (2013) (quotation marks omitted). A court must presume "that a cause lies outside this limited jurisdiction, and the burden of establishing the contrary rests upon the party asserting jurisdiction." Kokkonen v. Guardian Life Ins. Co. of Am. , 511 U.S. 375, 377, 114 S.Ct. 1673, 128 L.Ed.2d 391 (1994) (citations omitted); see also Robinson v. United States , 586 F.3d 683, 685 (9th Cir. 2009) ; Safe Air for Everyone v. Meyer , 373 F.3d 1035, 1039 (9th Cir. 2004). Under Rule 12(b)(1) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, "because it involves a court's power to hear a case, can never be forfeited or waived." United States v. Cotton , 535 U.S. 625, 630, 122 S.Ct. 1781, 152 L.Ed.2d 860 (2002). Thus, an objection that a court lacks subject matter jurisdiction may be raised by any party, or by the court on its own initiative, at any time. Arbaugh v. Y & H Corp. , 546 U.S. 500, 506, 126 S.Ct. 1235, 163 L.Ed.2d 1097 (2006). Further, the Court must dismiss any case over which it lacks subject matter jurisdiction. Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(h)(3) ; see also Pistor v. Garcia , 791 F.3d 1104, 1111 (9th Cir. 2015) (noting that when a court lacks subject matter jurisdiction, meaning it lacks the statutory or constitutional power to adjudicate a case, the court must dismiss the complaint, even sua sponte if necessary).

A motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction may be either "facial" or "factual." See Safe Air for Everyone , 373 F.3d at 1039. A facial attack on subject matter jurisdiction is based on the assertion that the allegations in the complaint are insufficient to invoke federal jurisdiction. Id. "A jurisdictional challenge is factual where 'the challenger disputes *1283the truth of the allegations that, by themselves, would otherwise invoke federal jurisdiction.' " Pride v. Correa , 719 F.3d 1130, 1133 n.6 (9th Cir. 2013) (quoting Safe Air for Everyone , 373 F.3d at 1039 ). When a defendant factually challenges the plaintiff's assertion of jurisdiction, a court does not presume the truthfulness of the plaintiff's allegations and may consider evidence extrinsic to the complaint. See Terenkian v. Republic of Iraq , 694 F.3d 1122, 1131 (9th Cir. 2012) ; Robinson , 586 F.3d at 685 ; Safe Air for Everyone , 373 F.3d at 1039. A factual challenge "can attack the substance of a complaint's jurisdictional allegations despite their formal sufficiency." Dreier v. United States , 106 F.3d 844, 847 (9th Cir. 1997) (citation and quotation marks omitted).

BACKGROUND

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332 F. Supp. 3d 1280, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/munger-v-cascade-steel-rolling-mills-inc-ord-2018.