Roberts v. Tribeca Automotive, Inc., 2019 WL 522127 (D.N.J. February 11, 2019)
In this action, the District Court of New Jersey adopted a magistrate’s recommendation which granted the plaintiff’s motion to remand the case back to state court. The plaintiff brought a class action in a state court of New Jersey seeking to recover wages for a class of employees of defendant (which was an interstate trucking company) who were allegedly misclassified as independent contractors. The defendant removed the action asserting that the District Court had jurisdiction pursuant to the Class Action Fairness Act (“CAFA”). The plaintiff thereafter filed a motion to remand. The magistrate judge recommended remand, concluding that the defendant had failed to prove that the plaintiff could recover the requisite amount in controversy for CAFA jurisdiction (five million dollars). In addition, the magistrate judge recommended remand pursuant to CAFA’s discretionary home state exception. The defendant thereafter filed objections to the magistrate judge’s recommendations.