(PS) Douglas v. Sacramento Job Corps Center

CourtDistrict Court, E.D. California
DecidedMay 30, 2023
Docket2:21-cv-02285
StatusUnknown

This text of (PS) Douglas v. Sacramento Job Corps Center ((PS) Douglas v. Sacramento Job Corps Center) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
(PS) Douglas v. Sacramento Job Corps Center, (E.D. Cal. 2023).

Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 RAYMOND DOUGLAS, Case No. 2:21-cv-02285-DAD-JDP (PS) 12 Plaintiffs, 13 v. FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 14 SACRAMENTO JOB CORPS CENTER, 15 Defendant. 16 17 Plaintiff Raymond Douglas alleges that from November 2014 through February 2015 he 18 was enrolled in the U.S. Department of Labor’s Job Corps program and was a resident at 19 defendant Sacramento Job Corps Center. ECF No. 1-1. He alleges that between October 2014 20 and February 2015 fellow enrollees inappropriately touched, manipulated, or battered him in his 21 sleep, and staff failed to adequately respond to his complaints, leading ultimately to his ouster 22 from the program. 23 Plaintiff commenced this action in Sacramento County Superior Court. ECF No. 7-2 at 4. 24 In December 2021, more than six months after plaintiff filed his second amended complaint and 25 more than four years after plaintiff commenced this action in state court, the United States 26 removed the case to this court on behalf of defendant. ECF No. 1. Thereafter, the United States 27 filed a motion to dismiss, and plaintiff filed motions to remand. ECF Nos. 3, 7, & 10. I denied 28 1 the parties’ motions with instructions to provide additional briefing addressing whether defendant 2 is a federal agency—a question central to the resolution of the parties’ motions. ECF No. 15. 3 The parties’ renewed motions are now before the court. ECF Nos. 16 & 17. In his motion 4 to remand, plaintiff argues that defendant is not a federal agency and that removal was untimely. 5 ECF No. 16. The United States moves to dismiss, arguing that because defendant is a federal 6 agency, plaintiff’s claims can only proceed under the Federal Tort Claims Act, and that the 7 United States is the only proper defendant under that act. ECF No. 17. The United States further 8 argues that any attempt to amend the complaint to substitute the United States as defendant would 9 be futile, both because plaintiff failed to exhaust his administrative remedies and because his 10 claims are barred by the Federal Employees Compensation Act. 11 Legal Standards 12 A. Removal Jurisdiction 13 A defendant may remove “any civil action brought in a State court of which the district 14 courts of the United States have original jurisdiction.” 28 U.S.C. § 1441(a); Caterpillar, Inc. v. 15 Williams, 482 U.S. 386, 392 (1987). Alternatively, the federal officer removal statute allows a 16 civil action to be removed from state to federal court if it involves, in relevant part, “[t]he United 17 States or any agency thereof or any officer (or any person acting under that officer) of the United 18 States or of any agency thereof, in an official or individual capacity, for or relating to any act 19 under color of such office . . . .” 28 U.S.C. § 1442(a)(1). “If at any time before final judgment it 20 appears that the district court lacks subject matter jurisdiction, the case shall be remanded.” 28 21 U.S.C. § 1447(c). 22 Section 1441(a) “is strictly construed against removal jurisdiction, and the burden of 23 establishing federal jurisdiction falls to the party invoking the statute.” California ex rel. Lockyer 24 v. Dynegy, Inc., 375 F.3d 831, 838 (9th Cir. 2004) (citation omitted); see Hunter v. Phillip Morris 25 USA, 582 F.3d 1039, 1042 (9th Cir. 2009) (“The ‘strong presumption against removal jurisdiction 26 means that the defendant always has the burden of establishing that removal is proper.’”) (quoting 27 Gaus v. Miles, Inc., 980 F.2d 564, 566 (9th Cir. 1992)). However, § 1442(a)(1) is interpreted 28 “broadly in favor of removal.” Durham v. Lockheed Martin Corp., 445 F.3d 1247, 1252 (9th Cir. 1 2006); Arizona v. Manypenny, 451 U.S. 232, 242 (1981) (explaining that “the policy favoring 2 removal should not be frustrated by a narrow, grudging interpretation of § 1442(a)(1)”) (internal 3 marks omitted). 4 The Rule 12(b)(1) framework applies to challenges to § 1442(a)(1) removal. See Leite v. 5 Crane Co., 749 F.3d 1117, 1122 (9th Cir. 2014) (concluding that “applying the Rule 12(b)(1) 6 framework to resolve jurisdictional challenges in this context will not unduly burden the unique 7 rights § 1442 affords removing defendants”). “Like plaintiffs pleading subject-matter jurisdiction 8 under Rule 8(a)(1), a defendant seeking to remove an action may not offer mere legal 9 conclusions; it must allege the underlying facts supporting each of the requirements for removal 10 jurisdiction.” Id. Plaintiff may file a motion to remand which, “[a]s under Rule 12(b)(1) . . . may 11 raise either a facial attack or a factual attack on the defendant's jurisdictional allegations.” Id. 12 B. Rule 12(b)(1) 13 A party may move to dismiss a case for a lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Fed. R. Civ. 14 P. 12(b)(1). “Federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction.” Kokkonen v. Guardian Life Ins. 15 Co. of Am., 511 U.S. 375, 377 (1994). Because of this, “[i]t is to be presumed that a cause lies 16 outside this limited jurisdiction, and the burden of establishing the contrary rests upon the party 17 asserting jurisdiction.” Id. (internal citations omitted). 18 A jurisdictional challenge under Rule 12(b)(1) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure can 19 be facial or factual. Safe Air for Everyone v. Meyer, 373 F.3d 1035, 1039 (9th Cir. 2004). In a 20 facial challenge, the moving party “accepts the truth of the . . . allegations [supporting federal 21 jurisdiction] but asserts that they ‘are insufficient on their face to invoke federal jurisdiction.’” 22 Leite v. Crane Co., 749 F.3d 1117, 1121 (9th Cir. 2014) (quoting Safe Air, 373 F.3d at 1039). In 23 a factual challenge, the court does not simply accept the allegations in the complaint as true. Id. 24 Instead, “when challenged on allegations of jurisdictional facts, the parties must support their 25 allegations by competent proof,” Hertz Corp. v. Friend, 559 U.S. 77, 96-97 (2010), and the court 26 makes findings of fact, resolving any material factual disputes by independently evaluating the 27 evidence, Friends of the Earth v. Sanderson Farms, Inc., 992 F.3d 939, 944-45 (9th Cir. 2021). 28 1 Motion to Remand 2 A. Federal Agency Status 3 In its removal notice, the United States contends that removal is warranted because the 4 lone defendant, the Sacramento Job Corps Center, is a United States agency. ECF No. 1 at 1-2. 5 In support of removal, the United States cites both § 1442(a)(1), the federal officer and agency 6 removal statute, and § 1441(a), which provides for the removal of actions over which the federal 7 district court would have original jurisdiction. Id. The United States argues that the court has 8 original jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1346

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Hertz Corp. v. Friend
559 U.S. 77 (Supreme Court, 2010)
United States v. Testan
424 U.S. 392 (Supreme Court, 1976)
United States v. Mitchell
445 U.S. 535 (Supreme Court, 1980)
Arizona v. Manypenny
451 U.S. 232 (Supreme Court, 1981)
Kokkonen v. Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America
511 U.S. 375 (Supreme Court, 1994)
In Re Subpoena in Collins
524 F.3d 249 (D.C. Circuit, 2008)
Gillespie v. Civiletti
629 F.2d 637 (Ninth Circuit, 1980)
Mildred Jerves v. United States
966 F.2d 517 (Ninth Circuit, 1992)
Marilyn Moe v. United States
326 F.3d 1065 (Ninth Circuit, 2003)
Durham v. Lockheed Martin Corp.
445 F.3d 1247 (Third Circuit, 2006)
Levin v. United States
133 S. Ct. 1224 (Supreme Court, 2013)
Hunter v. Philip Morris USA
582 F.3d 1039 (Ninth Circuit, 2009)
Douglas Leite v. Crane Company
749 F.3d 1117 (Ninth Circuit, 2014)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
(PS) Douglas v. Sacramento Job Corps Center, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ps-douglas-v-sacramento-job-corps-center-caed-2023.