Seacor Marine, LLC v. Caterpillar, Inc. et al

Filing 65

ORDER granting 22 Motion to Remand. The court declines to adopt the 51 Report and Recommendation and finds that remand is appropriate. This case is REMANDED to the Circuit Court of Mobile County, Alabama. Signed by Judge Callie V. S. Granade on 4/16/2012. (Attachments: # 1 CV 10-92 Order re: Bender Shipbuilding) (sdb)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ALABAMA
SOUTHERN DIVISION
SEACOR MARINE, LLC,
Plaintiff,
v.
CATERPILLAR, INC., et al.,
Defendants.

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CIVIL ACTION NO. 10-0306-CG-C

ORDER

This matter is before the court on the Report and Recommendation of the
Magistrate Judge (Doc. 51), plaintiff’s objection thereto (Docs. 52, 53), the statement
of defendant Alstom Power Conversion, Inc. (Doc. 54), defendant Coverteam Inc.’s
response (Doc. 62), the response of defendant Caterpillar Inc. (Doc. 63), and the
response of defendant Thompson Tractor Co., Inc. (Doc. 64). Upon a de novo review
of those portions of the report and recommendation to which objection is made, the
undersigned declines to adopt the Report and Recommendation and finds that
remand is appropriate.
This action was removed to this court from the Circuit Court of Mobile County,
Alabama by defendants Coverteam, Inc., Caterpillar Inc. and Thompson Tractor Co.,
Inc., who each filed separate notices of removal on June 18, 2010. (Docs. 1, 3, 4).
There are two related cases, Bender Shipbuilding & Repair Co., Inc. v. Caterpillar,
Inc., et al., (CV-10-92-CG-C) and St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company, et al.
v. Caterpillar, Inc., et al, (CV-10-312-CG-C), which have similar Report and
Recommendations with regard to motions to remand. This court found in the Bender
case that that action could not have been brought in federal court pursuant to federal

admiralty jurisdiction and that the requisites for mandatory abstention, under 28
U.S.C. § 1334(c)(2), had been met. The circumstances supporting mandatory
abstention in the Bender case are virtually identical to the facts of this case.1
Accordingly, for the same reasons stated in Bender, the court finds that mandatory
abstention applies to this action. The court further found in the Bender case that the
case was also due to be remanded for discretionary and equitable reasons. While
some of the equitable considerations in this case differ from those in Bender,2 the
court still finds that this case should also be remanded for predominantly the same
discretionary and equitable reasons stated in the Bender case.
After due and proper consideration of all portions of this file deemed relevant
to the issues raised, and a de novo determination of those portions of the report and
recommendation to which objection is made, the court declines to adopt the Report
and Recommendation of the Magistrate Judge. It is ORDERED that the motion of
Seacor Marine, LLC to remand (Doc. 22) is GRANTED and this case is hereby
REMANDED to the Circuit Court of Mobile County, Alabama.
DONE and ORDERED this 16th day of April, 2012 .
/s/ Callie V. S. Granade
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

1 . The

clerk is directed to attach a copy of the Bender order entered this date as an
exhibit hereto.
2 The most notable difference is that in Bender all of the parties and claims were not
properly removed to this court.
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