Garner v. Phoenix Air Group, Inc., 3:24-cv-07720

Phoenix Air Group provided aircraft with special mission equipment to the U.S. Navy for weapons testing exercises under a federal contract.
An aircraft operated by Phoenix Air crashed during a Navy training exercise off California, resulting in the deaths of all three crew members.
The survivors of the crew brought a state court negligence claim against Phoenix Air in Alameda Superior Court.
Phoenix Air removed the case to federal court under 28 U.S.C. § 1442(a)(1) (federal officer removal statute), stating it was acting under federal direction and asserting a government contractor defense.
Plaintiffs moved to remand the case to state court, arguing removal was improper.
The cause of the crash was not yet determined, as the NTSB report was pending at the time the complaint was filed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Federal Officer Removal (28 U.S.C. § 1442)	Removal improper, no federal defense	Acted under federal direction, defense applies	Removal appropriate under statute
Colorable Government Contractor Defense	No basis for federal preemption	Liability arises from federal contract specs	Defense is at least colorable
Causal Nexus (Link between conduct and claim)	Action unrelated to federal contract	Claims arise from federal work supplied	Nexus requirement satisfied
Consideration of Other Removal Grounds	Remand appropriate without federal issue	Federal enclave jurisdiction also possible	Court declines to reach other grounds

Getz v. Boeing Co., 654 F.3d 852 (9th Cir. 2011) (outlines government contractor defense shielding liability for actions required by government contract)
Leite v. Crane Co., 749 F.3d 1117 (9th Cir. 2014) (defendant need not prevail on merits to achieve federal officer removal)
DeFiore v. SOC LLC, 85 F.4th 546 (9th Cir. 2023) (emphasizes broad and liberal construction of § 1442 in favor of federal removal)