Opinion
23-CV-772 (JGK)
03-23-2023
CADWALADER, WICKERSHAM & TAFT, LLP, Petitioner, v. MOD CHAMPAGNE, LLC, ET AL., Respondents.
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
JOHN G. KOELTL, DISTRICT JUDGE
The petitioner, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, LLP, moves, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c), to remand this action to the New York State Supreme Court, New York County, from which the action was removed by respondents Mod Champagne LLC and Brent Hocking, and for an award of attorney's fees and costs in the amount of over $22,000 pursuant to that section. See ECF Nos. 6, 8, 18.
The respondents consent to the remand, conceding that there was no basis for federal jurisdiction, but they oppose the award of attorney's fees and costs. See ECF No. 12 at 4-6.
Because there is concededly no federal jurisdiction, this case will be remanded. See Martin v. Franklin Cap. Corp., 546 U.S. 132, 134 (2005) (citing 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c)). However, the award of attorney's fees and costs is discretionary. See id. at 136; Farnum v. Crown Equipment Corp., No. 20-cv-10843, 2021 WL 2581266, at *5 (S.D.N.Y. June 23, 2021) (denying a request for attorney's fees pursuant to Section 1447(c) and noting that the statute “affords a great deal of discretion and flexibility to the district courts" in deciding whether to award such fees); Frydman v. Cosmair, Inc., No. 94-cv-3772, 1996 WL 417516, at *1 (S.D.N.Y. July 25, 1996); see also 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c) (providing that a court "may" award "just costs and any actual expenses, including attorney fees, incurred as a result of the removal"). In this case, the need for the motion to remand would have been avoided if counsel for the petitioner had simply waited to resolve the issue of federal subject-matter jurisdiction with new counsel for the respondents, seeking any necessary adjournment, before plunging into the motion to remand which has now been consented to. Therefore, the petitioner's request for attorney's fees and costs is denied.
CONCLUSION
The petitioner's motion to remand is granted. This case is remanded to the New York State Supreme Court, New York County. The request for attorney's fees and costs is denied. The Clerk is respectfully directed to close all pending motions, to remand this case, and to close this case on the docket.
SO ORDERED.