Buford v. City Of Mobile et al

Filing 12

Order denying 11 Amended MOTION to Remand to State Court filed by Lewis Bay Buford, Jr..; Terminating 2 Motion to Remand. If Plaintiff intends to dismiss his claims against the Raines without prejudice and proceed on the proposed amended complaint he must notify the Court in writing by 12/10/2015. Signed by Senior Judge Charles R. Butler, Jr on 11/30/2015. copies to parties. (sdb)

IN#THE#UNITED#STATES#DISTRICT#COURT#FOR#THE#
SOUTHERN#DISTRICT#OF#ALABAMA#
SOUTHERN#DIVISION#
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LEWIS!BAY!BUFORD,!JR.,!
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Plaintiff,!
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v.!
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CITY!OF!MOBILE,!et!al.,!
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Defendants,!
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CIVIL!ACTION!NO.!
15E00553ECBEC!
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ORDER#
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This!matter!is!before!the!Court!on!Plaintiff’s!motion!seeking!to!sever!and!

remand!certain!claims!and!parties!to!state!court!and!Plaintiff’s!supplemental!motion!
to!remand.!!(Docs.!2!&!11.)!!Two!of!the!four!defendants,!City!of!Mobile!and!Sherman!
E.!Otis,!have!no!objection.1!(Doc.!9.)!!For!jurisdictional!reasons,!however,!the!motion!
cannot!be!granted.!!
Background#!
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On!September!28,!2015,!Plaintiff!Lewis!Bay!Buford,!Jr.!filed!this!action!in!the!

Circuit!Court!of!Mobile!County!asserting!claims!under!42!U.S.C.!§§!1983,!1985!&!
1988!and!state!law.!!The!defendants!in!this!action!are!the!City!of!Mobile!and!Mobile!
Police!Officer!Sherman!Otis!(collectively!“municipal!defendants);!Plaintiff’s!niece,!
Karen!Raine!and!her!husband,!Leroy!Raine.2!!The!complaint!arises!from!a!family!
dispute!between!Plaintiff!and!the!Raines.!!By!agreement!with!members!of!his!family,!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
1!The!two!remaining!defendants,!Karen!Raine!and!Leroy!Raine,!have!not!
responded.!!These!defendants!signed!a!consent!to!removal!pro$se!but!have!not!
answered!or!otherwise!defended!in!this!action.!
2!Also!named!are!two!fictitious!defendants!whose!presence!has!no!bearing!on!
jurisdiction.!

in!2014!Plaintiff!moved!from!Atlanta,!Georgia!to!live!in!his!mother’s!house!in!Mobile,!
Alabama.!!(Compl.!¶!11,!Doc.!1E1.)!!Plaintiff’s!mother!was!in!a!nursing!home!at!the!
time,!and!Plaintiff!planned!to!care!for!her!upon!her!release.!!(Id.)!!When!he!moved!to!
Mobile,!Plaintiff!needed!transportation,!so!Leroy!Raine!took!him!to!purchase!an!
automobile.!!(Id.!¶!12.)!!Due!to!Plaintiff’s!lack!of!credit,!Leroy!Raine!cosigned!the!
note,!but!Plaintiff!made!the!down!payment!and!had!installment!payments!drafted!
from!Plaintiff’s!bank!account.!!(Id.$¶¶!13E15.)!In!July!2014!and!again!in!February!
2015,!the!Karen!Raine!tried!to!have!Plaintiff!involuntarily!committed,!claiming!
Plaintiff!was!hearing!voices.!!Each!time,!Plaintiff!was!released!after!an!initial!
evaluation.!!!(Id.¶!18.)!!Things!came!to!a!head!on!May!28,!2015!when!Mobile!Police!
Department!officers,!including!Defendant!Otis,!responded!to!a!complaint!by!Karen!
Raine.!!She!told!the!officers!that!Plaintiff!was!“exhibiting!suspicious!behavior”!and!
“communicated!her!concerns![about!the!Plaintiff’s!mental!health].”!!(Compl.!¶¶!20E
21,!Doc.!1E1.)!!!When!Plaintiff!“arrived!at!his!residence,!he!was!confronted!by![three!
or!four]!City!of!Mobile!Police!officers”!who!instructed!him!“that!he!must!leave!the!
residence!and!could!not!return.”!!(Id.!¶!24.)!!The!officers!“demanded!the!house!and!
car!keys!from!the!plaintiff”!and!“threatened!to!take!him!to!jail!if!he!didn’t!turn!over!
the!keys.”!!(Id.!24E25.)!!!Plaintiff!turned!over!the!keys!and!was!taken!to!the!Salvation!
Army!shelter!because!he!was!rendered!homeless.!!(Id.!¶!28.)!The!Raines!have!
wrongfully!refused!to!return!Plaintiff’s!personal!property!that!was!left!in!his!
mother’s!residence.!(Id.!¶¶!36E38.)!!!!
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The!Complaint!asserts!twentyEthree!causes!of!action.!!Counts!One!through!Six!

involve!federal!law!claims!against!the!municipal!defendants!under!42!U.S.C.!§!1983.!!

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2!

Count!Seven,!also!against!the!municipal!defendants,!asserts!a!violation!of!the!Fifth!
Amendment!of!the!United!States!Constitution.!!Counts!Eight!and!Nine!assert!the!
municipal!defendants!and!Karen!Raine!engaged!in!a!conspiracy!to!deprive!Plaintiff!
of!his!home!and!automobile,!respectively,!in!violation!of!!42!U.S.C.!§!1985.!!Counts!
Ten!through!Thirteen!assert!violations!of!the!state!constitution!against!the!
municipal!defendants.!!Counts!Fourteen!and!Fifteen!allege!that!the!municipal!
defendant!and!Karen!Raine!are!liable!for!conspiracy!under!state!law!for!depriving!
Plaintiff!of!his!home!(Count!Fourteen)!and!automobile!(Count!Fifteen).!!The!
remaining!counts!assert!various!state!law!claims!against!Karen!Raine!and/or!Leroy!
Raine:!!Counts!Seventeen!through!TwentyEone!(conversion!and!trespass!to!chattel)!
are!based!their!alleged!refusal!to!return!Plaintiff’s!personal!property!and!vehicle!to!
him.!!Count!TwentyEtwo!asserts!both!Karen!and!Leroy!Raine!are!liable!for!unlawful!
eviction!because!they!“employed!the!services!of!the!city!police”!to!unlawfully!evict!
Plaintiff.!!(Compl.!¶128E29.)!
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The!City!of!Mobile!(“the!City”)!filed!a!timely!Notice!of!Removal,!which!the!

remaining!defendants!joined.!!The!Notice!of!Removal!asserts!federal!question!
jurisdiction!pursuant!to!28!U.S.C.!§!1331!based!on!the!federal!law!claims!and!
supplemental!jurisdiction!pursuant!to!28!U.S.C.!§!1367!over!the!state!law!claims.!!
(Notice!of!Removal!¶¶!4E5,!Doc.!1.)!!
Legal#Analysis!
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In!his!motion!to!sever!and!remand,!Plaintiff!proposes!two!contradictory!

courses!of!action.!!First,!he!wants!to!dismiss!all!claims!against!defendants!Karen!
Raine!and!Leroy!Raine.!!Second,!he!wants!to!remand!the!claims!against!those!

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3!

defendants!to!state!court.!To!accomplish!this,!Plaintiff!proposes!two!amended!
complaints—one!to!be!filed!in!federal!court!and!one!to!be!filed!in!state!court!after!
remand.!!The!obvious!flaw!in!this!plan!is!that!the!proposed!federal!complaint!deletes!
all!claims!against!the!Raines.!!Neither!Plaintiff!nor!the!municipal!defendants!(who!
have!no!objection!to!this!novel!jurisdictional!feat),!have!pointed!to!any!case!law!that!
would!allow!the!Court!to!remand!dismissed!claims!based!on!a!“proposed”!state!law!
complaint.!!If!the!amendment!is!made,!the!claims!against!the!Raines!will!be!
dismissed,!and!there!will!be!nothing!left!to!remand!to!state!court.!!!
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As!the!pleadings!now!stand,!the!Court!has!supplemental!jurisdiction!over!the!

claims!against!the!Raines.3!!!A!district!court!may!decline!to!exercise!supplemental!
jurisdiction!only!if:!!“(1)!the!claim!raises!a!novel!or!complex!issue!of!State!law,!(2)!
the!claim!substantially!predominates!over!the!claim!or!claims!over!which!the!
district!court!has!original!jurisdiction,!(3)!the!district!court!has!dismissed!all!claims!
over!which!it!has!original!jurisdiction,!or!(4)!in!exceptional!circumstances,!there!are!
other!compelling!reasons!for!declining!jurisdiction.”!!28!U.S.C.!§!1367(c).!!None!of!
those!circumstances!apply!in!this!case.!!Indeed,!Plaintiff!does!not!rely!on!any!of!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
3!The!Notice!of!Removal!specifically!invokes!supplemental!jurisdiction!under!
28!U.S.C.!§!1367.!!Plaintiff!does!not!argue!otherwise.!!Pursuant!to!28!U.S.C.!§!1367,!if!
the!district!court!has!original!jurisdiction!over!any!claim!asserted!in!a!civil!action,!it!
also!has!!“supplemental!jurisdiction!over!all!other!claims!that!are!so!related!to!
claims!in!the!action!within!such!original!jurisdiction!that!they!form!part!of!the!same!
case!or!controversy!under!Article!III!of!the!United!States!Constitution.”!!28!U.S.C.!§!
1367(a).!!!“In!deciding!whether!a!state!law!claim!is!part!of!the!same!case!or!
controversy!as!a!federal!issue,!we!look!to!whether!the!claims!arise!from!the!same!
facts,!or!involve!similar!occurrences,!witnesses!or!evidence.”!Hudson$v.$Delta$Air$
Lines,$Inc.,!90!F.3d!451,!455!(11th!Cir.!1996).!!While!Plaintiff’s!state!law!claims!(with!
the!exception!of!the!conspiracy!claim)!primarily!involve!the!Raines’!retention!of!
property!after!the!municipal!defendants’!involvement!ended,!all!of!the!claims!(state!
and!federal)!require!resolution!of!the!same!central!factual!disputeEEwhether!the!
Raines!had!a!superior!right!to!possession!of!the!house!and!vehicle.!!!
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4!

these!grounds!to!justify!remand.!!Instead,!Plaintiff!invokes!28!U.S.C.!§!1441(c)!as!
grounds!for!severing!and!remanding!state!law!claims.!!That!subsection!applies!only!
to!state!law!claims!“not!within!the!original!or!supplemental!jurisdiction!of!the!
district!court!or!a!claim!made!nonremovable!by!statute.”!!28!U.S.C.!§!1441(c)(1)!
(emphasis!added).!!Simply!put,!§!1441(c)!“makes!clear!that!the!entire!action!is!
subject!to!removal”!but!that!“the!district!court!must!sever!and!remand!all!claims!
that!are!made!nonEremovable!or!are!outside!of!its!original!or!supplemental!
jurisdiction.”!Fed.$Nat.$Mortgage$Ass'n$v.$Morris,!No.!2:15ECVE0798EJEO,!2015!WL!
4617175,!at!*4!(N.D.!Ala.!July!31,!2015)!(emphasis!added).!!Because!this!Court!has!
supplemental!jurisdiction!over!Plaintiff’s!state!law!claims,!severance!and!remand!of!
state!law!claims!under!§!1441(c)!is!not!permitted.!!!
Conclusion#
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Plaintiff’s!goal!of!proceeding!against!the!Raines!on!state!law!claims!in!state!

court!cannot!be!accomplished!through!severance!and!remand.!!The!motion!is,!
therefore,!DENIED.!!If!Plaintiff!intends!to!dismiss!his!claims!against!the!Raines!
without!prejudice!and!proceed!on!the!proposed!amended!complaint!he!must!notify!
the!Court!in!writing!on!or!before!December#10,#2015.!
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DONE!and!ORDERED!this!the!30th!day!of!November,!2015.!

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s/Charles$$R.$Butler,$Jr.$
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Senior#United#States#District#Judge!

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