Catharine Keene v. Penske Truck Leasing Co. LP.
Opinion
Trial Court Opinion
I.
BACKGROUND
On October 18, 2022, Plaintiff Catharine Keene filed a Complaint in the Santa Barbara County Superior Court against Defendants Penske Truck Leasing Co. LP (“Penske”), Lisa Taylor, and Does 1–25. Compl. [Doc. # 1-1.] Keene is a former employee of Penske who took a leave of absence and worked on a reduced schedule after undergoing “surgery to remove tumors in her head.” Compl. ¶ 17. Thereafter, Keene and Penske had a series of disputes about her requested accommodations. Id. ¶¶ 18–24. The Complaint asserts various claims for disability discrimination and retaliation against Penske after her leave of absence, and wage claims against Penske and Taylor. Compl. ¶¶ 27–140.
On November 30, 2022, Penske removed the action, asserting that this Court has diversity jurisdiction because Taylor, a citizen of California, is a sham defendant and without her there is complete diversity between Keene, a citizen of California, and Penske, a citizen of Delaware and Pennsylvania. Ntc. of Removal at 2 [Doc. # 1 (“Ntc.”)]. The parties do not dispute that the amount-in-controversy exceeds $75,000, nor that Penske is a diverse defendant. Ntc. ¶ 5; MTR at 5, 9.