Mellissa Marie Delgado, et al. v. Lakin Tired West, LLC

Summary

The United States District Court for the Central District of California grants Mellissa Marie Delgado’s motion to remand and returns the action to Los Angeles County Superior Court. The court holds that Delgado’s California wage-and-hour and unfair-competition claims are not preempted under section 301 of the Labor-Management Relations Act because she was not covered by the collective bargaining agreement and her claims do not substantially depend on interpreting it. The court denies the defendant’s motion to compel arbitration without prejudice as moot.

Holdings

1. For purposes of determining subject matter jurisdiction in this putative class action, the court considers only the claims of the named plaintiff; claims of unnamed class members are not part of the action for jurisdictional purposes before class certification.
2. Delgado's claims were not preempted by Section 301 because they arose from rights conferred by California law and were not substantially dependent on interpretation of a collective bargaining agreement.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the claims of unnamed putative class members who may have been covered by a collective bargaining agreement could establish federal subject matter jurisdiction before class certification.
2. Whether Delgado's California wage-and-hour and unfair-competition claims were completely preempted under Section 301 of the Labor-Management Relations Act.
3. Whether the motion to compel arbitration remained viable after remand.

Disposition

remanded