Brawn v. Coleman
| Decision Date | 30 August 2001 |
| Docket Number | No. 01-CV-10220-PBS.,01-CV-10220-PBS. |
| Citation | 167 F.Supp.2d 145 |
| Parties | Barbara BRAWN and Ameriklean, Inc., Plaintiffs, v. Donald COLEMAN and Service Employees International Union, Local 254, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Massachusetts |
Richard C. Van Nostrand, Mirick, O'Connell, DeMallie & Lougee, Worcester, MA, for Barbara Brawn, Ameriklean, Inc., Plaintiffs.
Indira Talwani, Segal, Roitman & Coleman, Ira Sills, Segal, Roitman & Coleman, Timothy J. Hatfield, Service Employees International, Union Local 254, Michael J. Muse, Boston, MA, for Donald Coleman, Service Employees International Union, Local 254, Defendants.
Defendants, a union local and its business agent, have removed a state-court action for libel, tortious interference with advantageous business relationship, and intentional infliction of emotional harm pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1441. Plaintiffs have moved for remand arguing that there is no basis in the complaint for asserting federal question jurisdiction.
For the reasons stated below, Plaintiffs' motion to remand is ALLOWED.
Unless otherwise noted, the following facts are drawn from the complaint.1
Plaintiff Barbara Brawn ("Brawn"), a resident of South Carolina, is the president and co-owner of Plaintiff AmeriKlean, Inc. ("AmeriKlean"), a South Carolina corporation that performs cleaning and janitorial services. On or about May 1, 2000, AmeriKlean entered into a three-year written contract with United Parcel Service, Inc. ("UPS") to provide cleaning and janitorial services at the UPS facility located in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts.
In response to UPS's decision to engage AmeriKlean (a nonunion contractor) to perform janitorial services, a handbilling campaign was initiated by: Defendant Service Employees International Union, Local 254 ("the Union" or "Local 254"); its business agent, Defendant Donald Coleman ("Coleman"); and others. The handbills contained a number of statements, including: "Scab bosses fired two cleaners for signing union representation cards on May 19, 2000"; "Scab boss told cleaners that unions are not allowed on UPS property"; and "Scab boss refuses to honor area union standards." Another set of handbills accused the Plaintiffs of engaging in "slavery" and "abusing cleaners at United Parcel Service." The Defendants also distributed the following "News Release":
UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICE CHARGE TARGETS SCABS
Cleaning workers Rick Johnson, Carlos Dominguez and Antonio Miranda employed by AmeriKlean a out of state scab contractor hired to provide janitorial services at the UPS facility in Shrewsbury, Mass have charges that are being investigated by the National Labor Relations Board. After observing unsafe working conditions and being offered substandard wages and benefits they demanded Union representation. Rather then respect the workers human rights they were told to leave by a AmeriKlean scab Boss. They were fired by some kind of dirty scab Boss for signing a Union card! [sic]
(Complaint at ¶ 14.) According to Plaintiffs, these statements are all libelous. "Upon information and belief," Plaintiffs also allege that defendants made these and other false or defamatory statements to UPS "and/or" threatened UPS if it continued to do business with AmeriKlean.
Plaintiff Brawn also alleges that she was personally targeted with threats and other statements that caused her severe emotional distress. For example, Defendants allegedly caused correspondence to be sent to Brawn from a "Minister of Defense of the Latin Mission" which stated that the Latin Mission "will teach you a lesson you won't soon forget." Additional correspondence sent to Brawn contained a "People's Subpoena" ordering Brawn to appear and give testimony before the "Massachusetts Jobs with Justice Workers Rights Board." According to the purported subpoena, failing to appear was done "AT YOUR PERIL." In addition, Defendants distributed a handbill stating that Brawn was "LONG OVERDUE FOR EXTINCTION."
As a cumulative result of these activities, the Plaintiffs allege that AmeriKlean was unable to fulfill its contract with UPS, and the contract was terminated by UPS on July 31, 2000.2
On January 22, 2001, Plaintiffs commenced an action against Defendants in Massachusetts Superior Court in Suffolk County, Massachusetts. The original complaint contained counts for libel (Count I), tortious interference with advantageous business relationships (Count II), and intentional infliction of emotional distress (Count III). Defendants removed the action to this Court on February 7, 2001. Plaintiffs rejoined with an amended complaint filed on February 13, 2001 and the present motion to remand the case to state court.3
A party seeking to remove a case to federal court has the burden of demonstrating the existence of federal jurisdiction. See BIW Deceived v. Local S6, 132 F.3d 824, 831 (1st Cir.1997). Furthermore, the removal statute should be strictly construed, and any doubts about the propriety of removal should be resolved against the removal of an action. See Danca v. Private Health Care Sys., Inc., 185 F.3d 1, 4 (1st Cir.1999)
Here, the Defendants argue that removal was proper under 28 U.S.C. § 1441(b), which provides in relevant part: "Any civil action of which the district courts have original jurisdiction founded on a claim or right arising under the Constitution, treaties or laws of the United States shall be removable without regard to the citizenship or residence of the parties." Id. In order to determine whether a claim or right arises under federal law or the Constitution, the courts look first to the "wellpleaded complaint rule."4 See BIW Deceived, 132 F.3d at 831.
The well-pleaded complaint rule "prohibits the exercise of federal question jurisdiction if no federal claim appears within the four corners of the complaint." Id. The plaintiff is generally considered the master of his own complaint and can avoid federal question jurisdiction by relying solely on state-law causes of action. See Danca, 185 F.3d at 4 (); Caterpillar, Inc. v. Williams, 482 U.S. 386, 392, 107 S.Ct. 2425, 96 L.Ed.2d 318 (1987). Thus, a Williams, 482 U.S. at 393, 107 S.Ct. 2425 (emphasis in original). See also Metropolitan Life Ins. Co. v. Taylor, 481 U.S. 58, 63, 107 S.Ct. 1542, 95 L.Ed.2d 55 (1987) ( ). "The fact that a defendant might ultimately prove that a plaintiff's claims are pre-empted under the NLRA does not establish that they are removable to federal court." Williams, 482 U.S. at 398, 107 S.Ct. 2425.
An examination of the complaint reveals that no federal claim appears on the face of the complaint. Defendants do not dispute this. Instead, they argue that Plaintiffs' complaint is subject to the two interrelated exceptions to the well-pleaded complaint rule: the artful pleading rule and the doctrine of complete preemption.
A plaintiff may not avoid removal by artful pleading which "omit[s] to plead necessary federal questions in a complaint." Franchise Tax Bd. v. Constr. Laborers Vacation Trust, 463 U.S. 1, 12, 103 S.Ct. 2841, 77 L.Ed.2d 420 (1983). The artful pleading doctrine "empowers courts to look beneath the face of the complaint to divine the underlying nature of a claim, to determine whether the plaintiff has sought to defeat removal by asserting a federal claim under state-law colors, and to act accordingly." BIW Deceived, 132 F.3d at 831. If the claim appears to be federal in nature, the court "must recharacterize the complaint to reflect that reality and affirm the removal despite the plaintiff's professed intent to pursue only state law claims." Id. "[T]he artful pleading doctrine permits a district court to recharacterize a putative state-law claim as a federal claim when a review of the complaint, taken in context, reveals a colorable federal question within a field in which state law is completely preempted." Id. at 832.
Danca, 185 F.3d at 4 (citations omitted). In such cases, "a plaintiff may not, by the expedient of artful pleading, defeat a defendant's legitimate right to a federal forum." BIW Deceived, 132 F.3d at 824.
Although the amended complaint asserts only state-law causes of action, defendants argue that federal question jurisdiction exists because the allegation (upon information and belief) that Defendants "threatened UPS if it continued to do business with AmeriKlean" (Compl. at ¶ 27) is conduct that is arguably prohibited by § 8(b)(4) of the National Labor Relations Act ("NLRA"), 29 U.S.C. § 158(b)(4).5 When state-law claims arise from activity that is arguably regulated by § 7 or § 8 of the NLRA, both state and federal courts "must defer to the exclusive competence of the NLRB if the danger of state interference with national labor policy is to be averted." Chaulk Servs., Inc. v. Massachusetts Comm'n Against Discrimination, 70 F.3d 1361, 1364 (1st Cir.1995), cert. denied, 518 U.S. 1005, 116 S.Ct. 2525, 135 L.Ed.2d 1049 (...
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...not preempted by § 303); see also Offices at 2525 McKinnon, LLC v. Ornelas, 681 F.Supp.2d 778, 784–85 (N.D.Tex.2010); Brawn v. Coleman, 167 F.Supp.2d 145, 153 (D.Mass.2001).12 We do not doubt that there are some claims that will be preempted by § 303. Smart, for example, involved a claim un......
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Retail Prop. Trust v. United Bhd. of Carpenters & Joiners of Am.
...preempted by § 303); see also Offices at 2525 McKinnon, LLC v. Ornelas, 681 F.Supp.2d 778, 784–85 (N.D.Tex.2010) ; Brawn v. Coleman, 167 F.Supp.2d 145, 153 (D.Mass.2001).12 We do not doubt that there are some claims that will be preempted by § 303. Smart, for example, involved a claim under......
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