Spencer v. United States District Court For The Northern District Of California

393 F.3d 867 (9th Cir. 2004)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Spencer (P), an electrical lineman, died as a result of injuries while working in an aerial lift bucket to repair and upgrade a Pacific Gas & Electric Company ('PG&E') utility pole. The operating controls of the lift bucket were unintentionally activated, causing the lift mechanism and the bucket to move suddenly and forcefully into the adjacent utility pole, injuring P. The aerial lift truck then catapulted P into the air, throwing him against a high voltage wire, causing his death by electrocution. Ps brought a wrongful death action in the superior court in California, alleging state law product liability claims against the manufacturer of the lift bucket, Altec Industries, and several Doe defendants. Altec timely removed the case to the District Court on the basis of federal diversity jurisdiction. Ps are resident citizens of Alaska, and Altec asserts it is a citizen of Alabama. During discovery, Ps moved to amend their complaint to name PG&E as a defendant. Ps moved to remand the action to state court, arguing that remand would be required due to the joinder of PG&E. PG&E is a citizen of California for purposes of diversity jurisdiction, and §1441(b) prohibits removal when at least one defendant is a citizen of the state in which the action is filed. PG&E was the Debtor in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. The bankruptcy court order modified the automatic stay to permit joinder of PG&E 'as a defendant in the State Court Action.' The court allowed PG&E as a defendant but refused to remand to state court. The district court rejected Ps' contention that the § 1441(b) 'forum defendant' rule required remand to state court; the 'forum defendant' rule is procedural rather than jurisdictional, and thus the addition of a local defendant did not require remand so long as removal was proper at the time the case was removed to federal court. P petitioned for a writ of mandamus.