Hernandez
Hernandez v. Delta Star, Inc.
Opinion
Trial Court Opinion
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
ISAAC HERNANDEZ, Case No. 22-cv-07354-VC
Plaintiff,
ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO
v. REMAND
DELTA STAR, INC., Re: Dkt. No. 10 Defendant.
The motion to remand is granted because there is no subject-matter jurisdiction. This order assumes the reader is familiar with the case. There is no federal-question jurisdiction. Hernandez brings a PAGA action under California law; the only question is whether his state-law cause of action is truly a federal cause of action because of complete preemption. Curtis v. Irwin Industries, 913 F.3d 1146, 1151–52 (9th Cir. 2019). Such a transformation can occur when an action involves a right that exists solely because of a collective bargaining agreement. Id. at 1152–53. That is not the case here. Alternatively, such a transformation can occur when adjudicating the dispute requires interpreting—not merely referencing—a collective bargaining agreement. Id. at 1153. “‘[I]nterpretation’ is construed narrowly in this context” to mean “an active dispute over the meaning of contract terms.” Id. Hernandez was not himself subject to a…