Tapp et al v. Alli et al

Filing 5

ORDER directing the Clerk of the Court to remand this case to the Moon Valley Justice Court and terminate this action. Signed by Judge G Murray Snow on 11/17/11. (Attachments: # 1 letter)(DMT)

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WO

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

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Terry Tapp; Ben Koerner; Realty
Executives, Inc.,

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Plaintiffs,
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vs.
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Adebisi Alli,
Defendant,

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No. CV-11-2069-PHX-GMS
ORDER

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Defendant Adebisi Alli has filed a Notice of Removal, seeking to remove Moon

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Valley Justice Court Case No. CC2011144405 to the Federal District Court of Arizona. (Doc.

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1). Since removal is improper because the federal court lacks subject-matter jurisdiction over

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the case, the Court remands this action.

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BACKGROUND

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On July 21, 2011, Plaintiffs Terry Tapp, Ben Koerner, and Realty Executives, Inc.

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filed a complaint in the Moon Valley Justice Court against Defendant, seeking $3,454 for

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fraud and harassment. (Doc. 1, Ex. 1(B)). Defendant filed a Motion to Dismiss, which was

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denied on October 6, 2011. (Doc. 1, Exs. 1, 9). Defendant then filed a Notice of Removal

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pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1441 (2006), stating that she is a citizen of the state of Michigan and

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that the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000. (Doc. 1 ¶¶ 7, 11).

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DISCUSSION
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Legal Standard

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Any time that the Court determines, on motion or on its own, that it lacks subject-

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matter jurisdiction to hear a case, it must dismiss the action. FED. R. CIV. P. 12(h)(3). “The

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party asserting jurisdiction has the burden of proving all jurisdictional facts.” Indus.

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Tectonics, Inc. v. Aero Alloy, 912 F.2d 1090, 1092 (9th Cir. 1990) (citing McNutt v. Gen.

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Motors Acceptance Corp., 298 U.S. 178, 189 (1936)). A civil action may only be removed

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to federal court if federal jurisdiction would have been proper had the complaint originally

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been filed there. 28 U.S.C. § 1441.

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Federal jurisdiction is proper in all cases that present a federal question on the face

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of the complaint. 28 U.S.C. § 1331 (2006). In addition, the Court has subject-matter

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jurisdiction to rule on cases in which defendants and plaintiffs are citizens of different states

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and the amount in controversy is greater than $75,000. 28 U.S.C. § 1332 (2006). If the claim

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on the face of the complaint is for greater than $75,000, the amount in controversy

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requirement is met if the claim is made in good faith. If, however, “from the face of the

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pleadings, it is apparent, to a legal certainty, that the plaintiff cannot recover” an amount

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adequate to satisfy the amount in controversy requirement, dismissal is proper. St. Paul

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Mercury Indem. Co. v. Red Cab Co., 303 U.S. 283, 289 (1938).

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2.

Analysis

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As the party asserting federal jurisdiction, Defendant has the burden of proving all

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jurisdictional facts. Indus. Tectonics, 912 F.2d at 1092. Defendant provides a copy of her

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Michigan Driver’s license, along with a 28-page complaint she filed against Plaintiffs in

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Wayne County, Michigan on August 9, 2011 in which she states that she is a citizen of

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Michigan. (Doc. 1, Exs. 5(B), 3). In that suit, Defendant states that while living in Michigan,

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she paid a deposit on a rental apartment in Phoenix of $2,215. She claims that the apartment

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was uninhabitable because of mold and other issues, and that Plaintiffs failed to return her

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deposit upon demand. She seeks $450,000 on each of five counts, including Breach of

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Contract, Tortious Interference with Advantageous Expectancy, Fraud and Fraudulent
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Inducement, Conversion, Retaliation, and violation of Michigan State Civil Rights Laws.

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Now claiming that her Michigan complaint and the present complaint arise from the same

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transaction, she states that she satisfied the amount in controversy requirement because she

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“seeks recovery of at lease [sic] two million dollars.” (Doc. 1 ¶10). Additionally, she has

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attached a counterclaim, alleging many of the same claims she lodged in the Michigan

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complaint, along with her answer. (Doc. 4).

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It appears that Defendant is in fact a citizen of the State of Michigan. However,

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Plaintiffs claim of only $3,454 is inadequate to satisfy the amount in controversy

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requirement. (Doc. 1, Ex. 1(B)). Defendant’s Michigan suit, which she acknowledges

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contains “different cause of action and different claims,”(Doc. 1 ¶ 10), cannot be removed

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to an Arizona district court, since state court actions can only be removed “to the district

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court of the United States for the district and division embracing the place where the action

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is pending.” 28 U.S.C. § 1441. The amount alleged in her counterclaim may not be

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considered in determining whether she has satisfied the amount in controversy requirement.

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Mesa Indus., Inc. v. Eaglebrook Prods., Inc., 980 F. Supp. 323, 326–27 (D. Ariz. 1997). In

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any event, the only tangible damages Defendant identifies in her Michigan complaint and her

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counterclaim are the loss of her $2,215 deposit and $6,700 “for additional expenses and

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interest.” It appears to a legal certainty that she cannot recover the amount she claims; a

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claim of over two million dollars as compensation for $8,915 in actual loss is not “apparently

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made in good faith.” St. Paul Mercury, 303 U.S. 288. Defendant has not met her burden of

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proving jurisdictional facts to this Court. Indus. Tectonics, 912 F.2d at 1090. Since the Court

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lacks subject-matter jurisdiction over this claim, it will be remanded to the Moon Valley

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Justice Court.

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CONCLUSION
The federal court has no subject-matter jurisdiction over this action because, while the
parties are diverse, the amount in controversy is under $75,000.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED directing the Clerk of the Court to remand this
case to the Moon Valley Justice Court and terminate this action.
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DATED this 17th day of November, 2011.

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