Davis
Davis v. Prentiss Properties Ltd., Inc.
Opinion
Opinion
Pregerson, J.
ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO REMAND
Plaintiff Annette Davis moves to remand this matter to state court. The Court grants the motion.
I. Background
Davis is a citizen of California. (Not. Rem. at 2.) Defendant Prentiss Properties is a citizen of Delaware. (Id. at 3.) Defendant Joanne Coval is a citizen of California. (Id. Ex.A (Compl.) at 9.)
Davis was hired by Prentiss to work as a property manager. Coval was a managing agent for Prentiss. In January 1999, Co-val informed Davis that her employment was being terminated. (Id. at 9-11.)
Davis filed suit in state court alleging six causes of action. Only the fourth cause of action names Coval as a defendant, asserting that Coval wrongfully withheld Davis’s wages in violation of California Labor Code § 216.
Defendant Prentiss Properties removed the action to this Court on diversity grounds, asserting that Coval was a sham defendant whose joinder was fraudulent and should be disregarded. Davis has now moved to remand.
The Court will first discuss the appropriate standard for consideration of a claim of fraudulent joinder. The Court will then apply this standard to Davis’s claim against Coval.