Opinion ID: 539932
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Claims Arising Under Federal Law

Text: Ordinarily, the existence of federal question jurisdiction is determined from the face of the complaint. Whether the complaint states a claim arising under federal law must  'be ascertained by the legal construction of [the plaintiff's] allegations, and not by the effect attributed to those allegations by the adverse party.'  Tennessee v. Union & Planters' Bank, 152 U.S. 454, 460, 14 S.Ct. 654, 656, 38 L.Ed. 511 (1894) (quoting Central R.R. v. Mills, 113 U.S. 249, 257, 5 S.Ct. 456, 459, 28 L.Ed. 949 (1985)). The plaintiff is the master of his complaint; where he may pursue state and federal claims, he is free to pursue either or both, so long as fraud is not involved. Salveson, 731 F.2d at 1426-27. On the other hand, jurisdiction must be determined by reference to the well-pleaded complaint. Franchise Tax Bd., 463 U.S. at 9-10, 103 S.Ct. at 2846. Claims brought under state law may arise under federal law if vindication of the state right necessarily turns upon construction of a substantial question of federal law, i.e., if federal law is a necessary element of one of the well-pleaded claims. Id. at 13, 27-28, 103 S.Ct. at 2848, 2855-56; see also Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, 478 U.S. at 808, 106 S.Ct. at 3232. Construing Ultramar's well-pleaded complaint, this court cannot say that Ultramar's right to relief necessarily depends upon construction of a substantial question of any federal environmental law. Although Beacon may have violated federal environmental laws prior to its acquisition by Ultramar, in which case Ultramar might be entitled to relief, for every stated cause of action, an alternative theory of relief, one dependent solely upon construction of state law, might also entitle Ultramar to relief. 5 The fact that an alternative theory of relief exists for each claim alleged in the complaint, one not dependent upon federal law, is itself grounds to defeat federal question jurisdiction. See Christianson v. Colt Indus. Operating Corp., 486 U.S. 800, 810, 108 S.Ct. 2166, 2174, 100 L.Ed.2d 811 (1988).