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AMENDED PETITION FOR

REMOVAL OF STATE COURT 

ACTION

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK 

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CAROLYN A. GRAY, 

Plaintiff,

-againstLOCAL UNION 1199, 

COLUMBIA PRESBYTERIAN MEDICAL CTR., 

AND NEW YORK PRESBYTERIAN OF COLUMBIA 

AND CORNELL, 

Defendants.

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Case No. 07-CV-3238 

To the Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, 

the Petition of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East (“1199SEIU”) shows that: 

1. On or about the 3rd day of April, 2007, plaintiff, Carolyn A. Gray, served a copy 

of a Notice of Claim and Summons to Appear (“Summons”) by first class mail on Defendant 

1199SEIU, incorrectly named by the Plaintiff as “Union Local 1199,” in the Civil Court of the 

City of New York, Small Claims Part. 

2. A copy of that Summons is annexed hereto as Exhibit “A”. 

3. Even though the Initial Petition for Removal of State Court Action (“the Initial 

Petition”) in this matter stated that counsel for New York Presbyterian Hospital (“the Defendant 

Employer”), the former employer of the Plaintiff, had communicated to me that the Defendant 

Employer had not been served with Notice of Claim and Summons to Appear (“Summons”) in 

this matter, on April 23, 2007 the Employer’s counsel alerted me that, in fact, the Defendant 

Employer had been so served with Summons. Copies of the Summons served on the Defendant 

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Employer are attached hereto as Exhibits “B” – “C”. Copies of the initial Notice of Petition and 

Petition are attached hereto as Exhibits “D” and “E”. 

4. In the caption of the Initial Petition, I had put the correct name of Defendant 

1199SEIU. Moreover, I did not include Defendant Employer in the caption of the Initial Petition 

because the Summons that Defendant 1199SEIU received did not contain the names of the Defendant Employer. To faithfully reflect the manner in which the Plaintiff named the Defendants 

in this action, this action should be correctly entitled, “CAROLYN A. GRAY V. UNION 

LOCAL 1199, COLUMBIA PRESBYTERIAN MEDICAL CENTER, AND NEW YORK 

PRESBYTERIAN OF COLUMBIA, INDEX NO. SHC 192/2007-3.” 

5. As previously stated in its Initial Petition, Plaintiff seeks to recover, “monies arising out of money owed to me from upgrading program in emergency room.” See Exhibits “A” –

“C”. 

6. As previously stated in its Initial Petition, Plaintiff further alleges that the event 

occurred in May of 2002. Id. 

7. As previously stated in its Initial Petition, Defendant 1199SEIU is a labor organization within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) § 2(5), 29 U.S.C. § 

152(5). Defendant 1199SEIU is the collective bargaining representative of health care employees in New York State, Massachusetts, the District of Columbia and Maryland. 

8. As previously stated in its Initial Petition, Plaintiff is a former employee of Defendant Employer and, during her tenure as an employee of said hospital, a member of the bargaining unit represented by 1199SEIU. 

9. As previously stated in its Initial Petition, the terms and conditions of employment for 1199SEIU-represented employees, including Plaintiff, are set forth in a collective barCase 1:07-cv-03238-AKH Document 5 Filed 04/26/2007 Page 2 of 27
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gaining agreement (“CBA”) between Defendant 1199SEIU and the League of Voluntary Hospitals and Homes of New York, of which the Defendant Employer is a member. 

10. As previously stated in its Initial Petition, although Plaintiff’s complaint makes 

reference to monies owed to her by 1199SEIU, the question of Plaintiff’s entitlement to relief 

turns solely on the interpretation of the parties’ CBA under Section 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act (“LMRA”), 29 U.S.C. § 185. Accordingly, because a determination of Plaintiff’s rights is governed solely by federal law, this action is removable to federal court. See Derrico v. Sheehan Emergency Hosp., 844 F.2d 22, 27-28 (2d Cir. 1988); Nordlicht v. New York Tel. 

Co., 799 F.2d 859, 862 (2d Cir. 1986). Although the complaint does not specifically refer to § 

301 of the LMRA, “a plaintiff may not defeat removal by clothing a federal claim in state 

garb....” Traveler’s Indem. Co. v. Sarkisian, 794 F.2d 754, 758 (2d Cir. 1986). Where “the only 

remedy available to plaintiff is federal, because of preemption or otherwise, and the state court 

must look to federal law in passing on the claim, the case is removable regardless of what is in 

the pleading.” Id. (quoting 14A C. Wright, A. Miller & E. Cooper, Federal Practice and Procedure § 3722 at 268-75 (2d ed. 1985)). 

11. As previously stated in its Initial Petition, as Plaintiff’s claim for relief necessarily arises under the law of the United States, it may be removed to this Court under the provisions of 28 U.S.C. § 1441(b) without regard to the citizenship of the parties. 

12. As previously stated in its Initial Petition, moreover, under 29 U.S.C. § 185 (a), 

this action can be brought in any district court “without respect to the amount in controversy.” 

Therefore, the fact that the Plaintiff filed the instant action in small claims court does not impede 

federal removal. 

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13. The Initial Petition was filed within thirty (30) days after Defendant 1199SEIU 

received copies of Plaintiff’s complaint, as required by 28 U.S.C. § 1446(b). 

14. The Initial Petition action was originally filed in a state court in this District. 

Therefore, venue is proper in this Court as provided by 28 U.S.C. §§ 1441(a) and 1446(a). 

15. The Defendant Employer consents to the removal of this action. 

16. As previously stated in its Initial Petition, by filing this Petition for Removal, Defendant 1199SEIU does not waive any defenses that may be available to it. 

17. Other than the initial Notice of Petition for Removal of State Court Action and the 

Initial Petition in this matter, no previous petition for removal of this action has been made. 

WHEREFORE, Defendant 1199SEIU prays that the caption in this matter be amended to 

replace the name of Defendant 1199SEIU with the erroneous name given to Defendant 

1199SEIU by the Plaintiff, “Local Union 1199,” and to include the names given to the Defendant 

Employer by the Plaintiff, “Columbia Presbyterian Medical Ctr.” and “New York Presbyterian of 

Columbia and Cornell,” and that the above-captioned action in Civil Court of the City of New 

York, Small Claims Part, be removed from there to this Court. 

Dated: New York, New York 

 April 25, 2007 

 LEVY RATNER, P.C. 

 _______________/s/_________________________ 

 By: César F. Rosado 

 Attorneys for Defendant 1199SEIU 

 United Healthcare Workers East 

 Levy Ratner, P.C. 

 80 Eighth Avenue, 8th Floor 

 New York, New York 10011 

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