Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermens Associations, Inc. v. Chevron Corp.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

PACIFIC COAST FEDERATION OF Case No. 18-cv-07477-VC

FISHERMEN’S ASSOCIATIONS, INC.,

Plaintiff, ORDER DENYING MOTION TO

REMAND

v. Re: Dkt. No. 224 CHEVRON CORP., et al., Defendants.

The motion to remand is reluctantly denied. The defendants properly removed the case under the Class Action Fairness Act, which permits removal of lawsuits brought under state-law rules similar to Rule 23, the mechanism for bringing federal class actions. This ruling assumes the reader is familiar with the facts, the applicable legal standard, and the arguments made by the parties. The Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations filed a lawsuit on behalf of itself and its members. The complaint identifies the Federation’s members as crab fishermen, fishing businesses, and local fishermen’s marketing associations along the West Coast. Dkt. No. 1-2 ¶¶ 11, 18, 19. The complaint states that the Federation is not merely suing in its own name or as an assignee, but “in a representative capacity on behalf of its members and the west coast fishing community.” Dkt. No. 1-2 ¶ 16; see id. ¶ 19. The complaint even defines…