COVID-19-FEDERAL PREEMPTION

Milan v. Shenango Presbyterian Seniorcare, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 151447 (W.D. Pa. August 23, 2022) (Ranjan, J.)  Plaintiff John Milan, by and through his Attorney-in-Fact, Sandra Lee Boyd, first filed this action in the Court of Common Pleas of Lawrence County, Pennsylvania. Plaintiff asserts a state-law negligence claim against Defendants arising from their neglect while Mr. Milan was a resident of Shenango Presbyterian Seniorcare. Plaintiff seeks punitive damages, among other relief. Defendants timely removed this action to federal court claiming that: (1) federal question jurisdiction exists because of complete preemption under the PREP Act (42 U.S.C. § 247d-6d(e)); (2) federal question jurisdiction exists under the Grable doctrine; and (3) federal question jurisdiction exists under the Federal Officer Removal Statute (28 U.S.C. § 1442(a)(1)). Plaintiff opposes these grounds for removal and asks the Court to remand the case back to state court. The Third Circuit recently rejected each of the grounds for removal put forth by Defendants in a substantively similar case. See Maglioli v. Alliance HC Holdings LLC, 16 F.4th 393 (3d Cir. 2021). The Fifth Circuit and Ninth Circuit have also separately addressed these grounds and found that they do not justify removal under similar circumstances. See Manyweather v. Woodlawn Manor, Inc., 40 F.4th 237 (5th Cir. 2022); Saldana v. Glenhaven Healthcare LLC, 27 F.4th 679 (9th Cir. 2022). Just like the removing parties in those prior cases, Defendants have failed to establish that federal jurisdiction is appropriate here and therefore the Court will remand the matter to state court.