Summary
remanding suit brought by ATF against Plaintiff in state court
Summary of this case from Green v. HalbleibOpinion
CIVIL ACTION NO. 3:16-CV-00013-TBR
03-15-2016
AMERICAN TAX FUNDING, LLC, Plaintiff, v. MICHAEL J. GREEN, et al., Defendants.
For the Plaintiff: James D. Ballinger For the Defendant: Michael J. Green, pro se
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
I.
A telephonic status conference was held on March 11, 2016.
Appearing by Telephone:
For the Plaintiff: James D. Ballinger
For the Defendant: Michael J. Green, pro se
Terri Turner, Official Court Reporter, transcribed the proceedings.
II.
In 2008, American Tax Funding, LLC filed this action, styled American Tax Funding, LLC v. Green, Case No. 08-CI-010349, in state court against Michael J. Green, asserting its right to payment as the assignee of various state and local tax claims. See R. 6-8 at 18-19, ¶¶ 1-5 (Complaint). The Jefferson County Circuit Court entered summary judgment in American Tax Funding's favor on October 29, 2013, and ordered Green's property to be sold in satisfaction of that judgment. See R. 6-7 at 4-7 (Judgment and Order of Sale). Subsequently, in 2016, Green removed that action to this Court under 28 U.S.C. § 1441. See R. 1 at 1-3 (Notice of Removal).
Michael J. Green filed a notice of removal on January 6, 2016. See R. 1 at 1-3 (Notice of Removal). Almost two weeks later, however, Green filed a self-styled "notion of removal" too. See R. 5 at 1-2 (Notion of Removal). In response to the Court's inquiries during the telephonic status conference referenced above, Green said that this latter filing was merely meant to bring his original notice of removal to the Court's attention.
A.
28 U.S.C. § 1441 authorizes defendants "to remove 'civil actions from state court to federal court when the action initiated in state court is one that could have been brought, originally, in a federal district court.'" Everett v. Verizon Wireless, Inc., 460 F.3d 818, 821 (6th Cir. 2006) (quoting Lincoln Prop. Co. v. Roche, 546 U.S. 81, 83 (2005)). Accordingly, this Court must remand any action over which it lacks subject matter jurisdiction. See 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c); Klepsky v. United Parcel Serv., Inc., 489 F.3d 264, 268 (6th Cir. 2007); Probus v. Charter Commc'ns, LLC, 234 F. App'x 404, 406 (6th Cir. 2007). Generally speaking, subject matter jurisdiction comes in two flavors: diversity jurisdiction, see 28 U.S.C. § 1332, and federal question jurisdiction, see 28 U.S.C. § 1331. Green bears the burden of "establishing federal subject matter jurisdiction," Vill. of Oakwood v. State Bank & Tr. Co., 539 F.3d 373, 377 (6th Cir. 2008) (citing Ahearn v. Charter Twp. of Bloomfield, 100 F.3d 451, 453-54 (6th Cir. 1996)), and any doubts as to the propriety of removal must be resolved against him, Jacada (Europe), Ltd. v. Int'l Mktg. Strategies, Inc., 401 F.3d 701, 704 (6th Cir. 2005) abrogated on other grounds by Hall St. Associates, L.L.C. v. Mattel, Inc., 552 U.S. 576 (2008).
B.
Here, the Court lacks diversity jurisdiction. See 28 U.S.C. § 1332. A limited liability company, such as American Tax Funding, holds the citizenship of each of its members. See Delay v. Rosenthal Collins Grp., 585 F.3d 1003, 1005 (6th Cir. 2009) (citing Homfeld II, L.L.C. v. Comair Holdings, Inc., 53 F. App'x 731, 732-33 (6th Cir. 2002)). Green's notice of removal does not allege the citizenship of American Fax Funding's members. See generally R. 1 at 1-3. Without such information, Green's notice of removal does not implicate this Court's diversity jurisdiction.
In any event, the forum-defendant rule bars removal based on diversity because Green is a citizen of Kentucky, the state in which American Tax Funding filed this action. See 28 U.S.C. § 1441(b)(2); NFC Acquisition, LLC v. Comerica Bank, 640 F. Supp. 2d 964, 968 (N.D. Ohio 2009) (citing Geffen v. Gen. Elec. Co., 575 F. Supp. 2d 865, 869 (N.D. Ohio 2008)).
Nor does the Court possess federal question jurisdiction. Under the well-pleaded complaint rule, the Court "looks only to the plaintiff's complaint" to determine if "a claim arises under federal law." Palkow v. CSX Transp., Inc., 431 F.3d 543, 552 (6th Cir. 2005) (citing Gully v. First Nat'l Bank, 299 U.S. 109 (1936); Louisville & Nashville R.R. Co. v. Mottley, 211 U.S. 149 (1908)). "If the complaint relies only on state law, the [Court] generally lacks subject matter jurisdiction and the action is not removable." Id. No part of American Tax Funding's complaint recites or relies on federal law. See generally R. 6-8 at 18-24. Accordingly, the Court lacks federal question jurisdiction too.
Regardless, the Jefferson County Circuit Court has issued a judgment in this action. See R. 6-7 at 4-7 (Judgement and Order of Sale). Under the Rooker-Feldman doctrine, this Court "may not hear an appeal of a case already litigated in state court." United States v. Owens, 54 F.3d 271, 274 (6th Cir. 1995); see also Roch v. Humane Soc'y of Bedford Cty., Tenn., Inc., 134 F. App'x 68, 71 (6th Cir. 2005); Edem v. Spitzer, 204 F. App'x 95, 96-97 (2d Cir. 2006). --------
III.
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court is DIRECTED to TERMINATE James D. Ballinger as Defendant and to RESTYLE this matter as American Tax Funding, LLC v. Michael J. Green, et al., as reflected in the complaint filed in Jefferson County Circuit Court, Division Seven. See R. 6-8 at 16-18.
IT IS FURTHER ORDEERED that, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c), the action styled American Tax Funding, LLC v. Green, Case No. 08-CI-010349, is REMANDED to Jefferson County Circuit Court, Division Seven.
IT IS SO ORDERED. Date: March 15, 2016 cc: Defendant, pro se
Counsel of Record P | 35
/s/
Thomas B. Russell, Senior Judge
United States District Court