Opinion
Civil No. JFM-05-495.
March 22, 2005
MEMORANDUM
Plaintiffs have filed a motion to remand this action to the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County, Maryland, from which it was removed.
Plaintiff's motion will be granted. Self-evidently, removal (which was based on the parties' diversity of citizenship) was improper because (1) defendants are citizens of Maryland, see 28 U.S.C. § 1441(b), and (2) the record reflects that less than $75,000 is in controversy.
Plaintiff has also requested attorney's fees in connection with its remand motion, both against defendants and their attorney. Because even a cursory examination of the relevant statutes would have revealed that removal was improper and because the record reflects that the removal was part of a pattern of obstructionist tactics employed by defendants, plaintiff is entitled to the attorney's fees it seeks both against defendants and their attorney. See 28 U.S.C. §§ 1447(c) 1927. The record does not disclose the amount of attorney's fees incurred by plaintiff solely in connection with the removal. Therefore, the amount of attorney's fees awarded to plaintiff will be $750, an amount at the bottom of any reasonable range for filing the motion to remand.
Because this court lacks jurisdiction, I will not rule upon two other pending motions: plaintiff's motion to dismiss defendants' petition to compel mandatory arbitration and its petition for fees and costs in connection with the TRO and preliminary injunction proceedings. These motions can be decided by the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County after remand.
ORDER
For the reasons stated in the accompanying memorandum, it is, this 22nd day of March 2005ORDERED
1. Plaintiff's motion to remand is granted;
2. Plaintiff is awarded $750 in attorney's fees against defendants and their attorney, Thomas McCarthy, Jr., in connection with filing the motion to remand; and
3. This action is remanded to the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County, Maryland.