Washeleski v. City of Campbell

Background

Pawl Washeleski, who represented himself, filed the case in Santa Clara County Superior Court on April 24, 2025. The opinion identifies four claims in the original complaint: violation of due process under the California Constitution, intentional infliction of emotional distress, abuse of process, and civil conspiracy to violate rights.

Washeleski filed an amended complaint on May 6, 2025. The amended complaint said that its purpose was to name additional defendants and that the allegations and claims in the original complaint remained unchanged. On June 20, 2025, the City of Campbell removed the case to federal court, asserting federal-question jurisdiction based on references in the amended complaint to due process, equal protection, Americans with Disabilities Act rights, and civil-rights claims under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1985.

Motion to Remand

Washeleski moved to remand, meaning to return the case to state court. He argued that his claims remained based on California law and the California Constitution and that the references to federal law were included only as context, not as separate federal causes of action.

The court applied the well-pleaded complaint rule, which generally asks whether a federal question appears on the face of the plaintiff’s properly pleaded complaint. The court concluded that the only specifically listed causes of action arose under state law. It also found that the amended complaint did not expressly add federal claims, and that its passing references to federal law were insufficient to establish federal-question jurisdiction. The court stated that Washeleski could choose to rely exclusively on state law.

The court also explained that, alternatively, Washeleski’s motion could be treated as a clear disclaimer of federal claims or as a request to amend the complaint to remove any purported federal claims. The court noted that a later Supreme Court decision held that, after removal, federal jurisdiction can depend on the contents of a new complaint and that a proper amendment can eliminate federal jurisdiction.

Ruling

Judge Eumi K. Lee held that remand was required because the amended complaint did not raise a federal question on its face and the opinion identified no other basis for subject-matter jurisdiction. The court granted Washeleski’s motion, remanded the case to Santa Clara County Superior Court, and terminated the City of Campbell’s motion to dismiss as moot. The court did not decide the underlying state-law claims.