Villegas v. The Pep BoysManny Moe & Jack of California, 06-07642, (C.D. CA May 6, 2008) and Machado v. The Pep BoysManny Moe & Jack of California, 08-01469, (C.D. CA May 6, 2008)
When we heard that blue-collar, hard-working employees like Villegas and Machado were complaining about Manny, Moe and Jack, we thought the same thing that most of you are currently thinking. Those dastardly Pep Boy guys are at it again! Just look at that moustache, it reeks of evil-doing!
However, after further investigation, we learned that Manny, Moe and Jack were not who we (or you, the reader) were thinking.
Villegas and Machado, along with countless others, were employed by Manny, Moe and Jack doing all sorts of odd jobs.
Of course, Manny was none other than Man-Ram who employed countless lackeys to help Lasorda stay well fed, to help Torre from demanding another hair-cut, and to help Manny just be Manny.
Moe was the beloved Moe Szyslak of bartending fame. Moe needed lots of help schlepping drinks for Homer and the others. We hear that Moe’s toe-nails were also meticulously pedicured, and let’s just say he wasn’t holding those clippers himself.
We know, once we knew that Pep-Boy Jack wasn’t “Jack” we were sure that “Jack” was none other than “Jack” of the Shining/the Departed/Laker game fame. But no, it was Jack Bauer, and as we at the Blog understand he was one mean S.O.B. Not only did Jack’s exploits require tons of employees to work behind the scene (for God’s sake, the man is saving the world every day), but we hear that when Manny and Moe’s lackeys gave them grief … well let’s just say that it wasn’t unheard of for a lackey to be blindfolded, gagged, and dropped in a desert in parts unknown.
We digress, those jobs took time; so much time, that Villegas, Machado, and scores of others put in tons of overtime. What do you know, Manny, Moe, and Jack screwed them out of their vacation pay, those bastards!
Well, as you would expect, a group of employees led by Villegas got fightin’ mad, and sued Manny, Moe and Jack in state court. Manny, Moe and Jack removed to federal court (obviously, or we wouldn’t be talking about this case) due to ERISA preemption, where a tentative settlement was reached.
Believe it or not, a group of employees led by Machado had similarly filed a state court suit against Manny, Moe and Jack making the same claims. The Machado matter was removed and transferred to the Villegas court as a related matter. Before the court certified the class and approved the settlement, Machado objected due to lack of jurisdiction of the federal court.
Villegas, Manny, Moe and Jack argued that CAFA provided a basis for maintaining jurisdiction, even though CAFA was not cited as a basis for removal initially. The Court disagreed, holding that the removal petition must state the basis of removal and may not be amended to add a separate basis outside of the 30 day removal window.
Last we heard, after the decision, Moe had to slip Jack a Mickey to control the all-out rage. Manny just shrugged the decision off, knowing that somehow Scott Boras would find a way to get the case back to federal court!
