HICA Education Loan Corporation v. Merzenich

Filing 11

ORDER that plaintiff shall show cause why this case should not be dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Plaintiff shall file a supplemental brief, no later than June 8, 2012, addressing this court's subject matter jurisdiction. Signed by Judge Frederick J Martone on 5/30/2012. (KMG)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

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HICA Education Loan Corporation,
Plaintiff,

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vs.

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Angela R. Merzenich,
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Defendant.
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No. CV-12-0412-PHX-FJM
ORDER

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Before the court is plaintiff’s motion for default judgment (doc. 10).

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Plaintiff HICA Education Loan Corporation, a corporation organized under the laws

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of South Dakota, is the holder of promissory notes representing student loans issued to

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defendant in the unpaid principal amount of $12,599.72. Defendant defaulted on repayment

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of the debt and HICA filed this breach of contract action.

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We have an obligation to determine sua sponte whether we have jurisdiction over this

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matter. Grupo Dataflux v. Atlas Global Group, L.P., 541 U.S. 567, 593, 124 S. Ct. 1920,

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1937 (2004). It is clear that we do not have diversity jurisdiction given that the amount in

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controversy is less than $75,000. See 28 U.S.C. § 1332. Plaintiff suggests, however, that we

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have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1331 because the cause of action “arises under” federal

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law, presumably because the student loan was advanced pursuant to a federal student loan

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insurance program. See 42 U.S.C. § 292, et seq. Although a federal statute is implicated by

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the student loan, it nevertheless appears that this cause of action “arises under” a state law

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breach of contract claim.

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Therefore, IT IS ORDERED that plaintiff shall show cause why this case should not

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be dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Plaintiff shall file a supplemental brief,

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no later than June 8, 2012, addressing this court’s subject matter jurisdiction.

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DATED this 30th day of May, 2012.

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