Lewis v. ABB Optical Group LLC

Background

Ar’maney Lewis filed a wage-and-hour proposed class action in Alameda County Superior Court on February 28, 2019. The complaint named ABB Optical Group LLC and ABB Con-Cise Optical Group LLC as defendants. Lewis alleged that the defendants failed to pay regular and overtime wages, provide meal- and rest-period premiums, pay minimum wages, timely pay final wages, provide compliant wage statements, maintain required payroll records, and reimburse necessary business expenses. Lewis also asserted a claim under California’s Unfair Competition Law.

The parties later stipulated to dismissal of the sixth cause of action concerning untimely wage payments during employment, the eighth cause of action concerning payroll records, and the request for injunctive relief under the Unfair Competition Law. The court granted that stipulation. The defendant also filed a motion to dismiss.

Removal and jurisdiction

ABB Con-Cise Optical Group LLC removed the case to federal court, asserting diversity jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332. Diversity jurisdiction requires, among other things, that the amount in controversy exceed $75,000. Because the complaint did not demand a specific dollar amount, the removing defendant had to prove by a preponderance of the evidence—a showing that the claim was more likely than not—that the amount in controversy exceeded $75,000.

Lewis moved to remand, meaning to return the case to state court. Lewis argued that the defendant had not met its burden. The court explained that the removing party must establish that removal is proper and that doubts about federal jurisdiction are resolved in favor of remand.

Court’s analysis

The defendant estimated $1,023.75 for potential overtime recovery, $1,820 for potential meal- and rest-period recovery, $3,120 for possible termination-payment penalties, and $650 for possible wage-statement penalties. These estimates totaled less than $7,000. The defendant relied mainly on an estimate of $90,000 in attorney fees, based on a $450 hourly rate and 200 hours of work.

The court held that the defendant did not show by a preponderance of the evidence that attorney fees in a single-plaintiff wage-and-hour case involving less than $7,000 in damages would reach $90,000. The defendant offered little explanation for the 200-hour estimate, did not adequately explain why the cited cases were comparable, did not focus on the statutory bases allowing attorney fees for Lewis’s claims, and did not explain why work on those claims would require 200 hours. The court also noted that using a more conservative 100-hour estimate would leave the defendant below the $75,000 threshold.

Disposition

The court GRANTED Lewis’s motion to remand, finding that the defendant had not shown at least $75,000 was in controversy. Because the court lacked jurisdiction, it did not reach Lewis’s other arguments for remand or the defendant’s other motions. The Clerk was directed to terminate the defendant’s motion to dismiss and motion for leave to amend the removal notice, and to remand the case to Alameda County Superior Court.