Garner

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

SUSAN GARNER, et al., Case No. 24-cv-07720-AGT

Plaintiffs,

ORDER ON MOTION TO REMAND

v. Re: Dkt. No.

PHOENIX AIR GROUP, INC.,

Defendant.

Phoenix Air Group, Inc., permissibly removed this civil action under the federal of- ficer removal statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1442(a)(1). Phoenix Air provided the Navy with commer- cial airplanes to be used during weapons testing exercises, under a contract with the U.S. Department of the Interior. Phoenix Air outfitted the planes with special mission equipment, and the contract detailed technical, personnel, maintenance, and mechanical requirements with which Phoenix Air had to comply. One of the planes crashed during a training exercise off the coast of California. All three members of the flight crew died. Their survivors sued Phoenix Air for negligence, filing this action in Alameda Superior Court. Phoenix Air was “involved in an effort to assist, or to help carry out, the duties or tasks of [a] federal superior,” as required for removal under § 1442(a)(1). DeFiore v. SOC LLC, 85 F.4th 546, 554 (9th Cir. 2023) (simplified). Also as § 1442(a)(1) requires, the…