Opinion
No. 00 C 5442
February 21, 2001
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
Plaintiff/Counter-Defendant Stephen Harris ("Stephen") was injured when his bicycle was struck by an automobile. Defendant/Counter-Plaintiff Great-West Life Annuity Insurance Company ("Great-West"), an ERISA welfare benefit plan, paid out $6,581.12 toward Stephen's medical care. Stephen, through his mother Becky Harris, as parent and natural guardian of him (collectively "the Harrises"), filed suit in the Circuit Court of the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit, Du Page County, against the driver of the car and accepted a settlement in the amount of $27,500.00. Subsequently, the Harrises filed a Motion to Adjudicate Liens Against the Estate of a Minor in the Circuit Court of DuPage County. (Becky Harris, as parent and natural guardian of Stephen Harris, a minor v. Devesh V. Patel, Case No. 99 L 195). Through that motion, the Harrises sought to have the settlement declared free and clear of all liens. Great-West removed the matter to this Court seeking to invoke ERISA as the basis for removal under the principles of preemption. Great-West then filed a counterclaim requesting equitable enforcement of the subrogation terms of its benefits plan and now moves for summary judgment. For the reasons set forth below, this Court sua sponte remands this action to the state court for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.
Great-West removed this matter pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1441 (b), which covers "[a]ny civil action of which the district courts have original jurisdiction founded on a claim of right arising under the Constitution, treaties or laws of the United States." The only "civil action" was the tort suit brought by the Harrises against the driver, "which assuredly did not arise under the Constitution, treaties, or laws of the United States. Not even the most expansive reading of ERISA covers motor vehicle collisions, just because part of the recovery may inure to the benefit of a plan." Blackburn v. Sundstrand Corp., 115 F.3d 493, 494 (7th Cir.). The motion to adjudicate the liens, which is the pleading Great-West attempted to remove, "invoked the ancillary jurisdiction of the state court and was part of that original. non-removable action."Id. Therefore, this Court need not even address Great-West's ERISA preemption arguments, as this case is not a "civil action . . . arising under the Constitution, treaties or laws of the United States," and this Court does not have subject matter jurisdiction over it. 28 U.S.C. § 1441 (b) Accordingly, this Court orders that this case be remanded to the Circuit Court of DuPage County.
The Seventh Circuit in Blackburn did go on to explore other jurisdictional issues including ERISA preemption by assuming there was a "civil action." Blackburn, 115 F.3d at 495-96. However, they did so only in dicta and their holding remained clear that no "civil action" existed. Id. at 494-95. Therefore, this Court need not discuss any additional jurisdictional issues, including ERISA preemption.