Section 23 Property Owner's Association, Inc. v. Robinson et al

Filing 14

ORDER. The Clerk of Court is directed to REMAND the case to the Circuit Court of the Twentieth Judicial Circuit in and for Charlotte County, Florida, and to transmit a certified copy of this Order to the Clerk of that Court. The Clerk of the Court is further directed to terminate all pending motions and deadlines, and close this case. Signed by Judge Sheri Polster Chappell on 7/8/2015. (LMF)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
FORT MYERS DIVISION
SECTION 23 PROPERTY OWNER’S
ASSOCIATION,
INC.,
a
Florida
corporation
Plaintiff,
v.

Case No: 2:15-cv-261-FtM-38CM

JANE B. ROBINSON, ALBERT M.
ROBINSON and LISA SPADER
PORTER,
Defendants.
/
ORDER1
This matter comes before the Court on an Order to Show Cause entered on June 25,
2015. (Doc. #5). In the Order, the Court required Defendants to show cause as to how the
Court retains jurisdiction over this matter after it was removed from Florida state court. (Doc.
#5). On July 2, 2015, Defendant Albert M. Robinson filed a Response, averring that the Court
retained subject matter jurisdiction over this action on the basis of federal question
jurisdiction. (Doc. #7). But the Court disagrees.
As the Court previously noted, “[t]he presence or absence of federal-question

jurisdiction is governed by the ‘well-pleaded complaint rule,’ which provides that federal
question jurisdiction exists only when a federal question is presented on the face of the

1

Disclaimer: Documents filed in CM/ECF may contain hyperlinks to other documents or Web sites. These
hyperlinks are provided only for users’ convenience. Users are cautioned that hyperlinked documents in CM/ECF
are subject to PACER fees. By allowing hyperlinks to other Web sites, this Court does not endorse, recommend,
approve, or guarantee any third parties or the services or products they provide on their Web sites. Likewise, the
Court has no agreements with any of these third parties or their Web sites. The Court accepts no responsibility
for the availability or functionality of any hyperlink. Thus, the fact that a hyperlink ceases to work or directs the
user to some other site does not affect the opinion of the Court.

plaintiff’s properly pleaded complaint.” Caterpillar Inc. v. Williams, 482 U.S. 386, 392
(1987) (citation omitted). A review of the operative Complaint, however, reveals there is
no claim brought pursuant to federal law. (Doc. #2). Consequently, the Court fails to
retain subject matter jurisdiction over this action.
Defendant Albert M. Robinson attempted to change this fact by filing a
counterclaim in this action, which asserted claims brought pursuant to federal law. But
this does not help the Court retain jurisdiction. That is because “a counterclaim—which
appears as part of the defendant’s answer, not as part of the plaintiff’s complaint—cannot
serve as the basis for [federal question] jurisdiction.” Holmes Group, Inc. v. Vornado Air
Circulation Sys., Inc., 535 U.S. 826, 831, 122 S.Ct. 1889, 153 L.Ed.2d 13 (2002) (internal
quotations and citations omitted). If Defendant Albert M. Robinson wishes to bring his
counterclaims in federal court, he must explore whether he can do so as a separate,
independent action, not on removal of a state court action with no federal claims.
Based on the foregoing, the Court fails to retain subject matter jurisdiction over this
action on the basis of federal question jurisdiction. Therefore, the Court remands the
instant action to the Circuit Court of the Twentieth Judicial Circuit in and for Charlotte
County, Florida.
Accordingly, it is now
ORDERED:
1. The Clerk of Court is directed to REMAND the case to the Circuit Court of the
Twentieth Judicial Circuit in and for Charlotte County, Florida, and to transmit
a certified copy of this Order to the Clerk of that Court.

2

2. The Clerk of the Court is further directed to terminate all pending motions and
deadlines, and close this case.
DONE and ORDERED in Fort Myers, Florida, this 8th day of July, 2015.

Copies: All Parties of Record

3