Plant Food Systems, Inc. v. Gottwald et al

Filing 33

ORDER granting Plaintiff's 22 Motion to Remand; granting in part Plaintiff's 28 Motion to Correct; and denying as moot the United States of America's 8 Motion for Substitution of Parties. The Clerk is directed to terminate all remaining case deadlines, send a certified copy of the Order to the state court, and close the file. Signed by Judge Roy B. Dalton, Jr. on 7/2/2012.(RMN)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
ORLANDO DIVISION
PLANT FOOD SYSTEMS, INC.,
Plaintiff,
vs.

Case No: 6:12-cv-788-Orl-37GJK

TIMOTHY R. GOTTWALD, JAMES H.
GRAHAM, MICHAEL S. IREY,
THOMAS G. MCCOLLUM, and BRUCE
W. WOODS,
Defendants.
ORDER
This cause is before the Court on the following:
1.

Plaintiff’s Notice of Partial Voluntary Dismissal (Doc. No. 21), filed June

15, 2012;
2.

Plaintiff’s Motion to Remand (Doc. No. 22), filed June 18, 2012;

3.

The Court’s Order to Show Cause (Doc. No. 26), issued June 20, 2012;

4.

Plaintiff’s Motion to Correct of for Reconsideration (Doc. No. 28), filed

June 22, 2012;
5.

Plaintiff’s Brief in Support of Unopposed Motion to remand (Doc. No. 31),

filed June 29, 2012; and
6.

Defendant James H. Graham’s Response to Order to Show Cause (Doc.

No. 32), filed June 29, 2012.
In its Notice of Partial Voluntary Dismissal, Plaintiff voluntarily dismissed all
claims pending against Defendants Timothy R. Gottwald, Thomas G. McCollum and
Bruce W. Wood, all of whom have been identified as federal officers by the United

States. (See Doc. Nos. 1, 8, 21.) By doing so, Plaintiff has dismissed all claims against
the United States, the real party in interest. Thus, upon consideration, the Court finds
that Plaintiff’s voluntary dismissal, which was noticed on June 15, 2012, was effective
because it dismissed all claims against the United States. Even if the dismissal was
ineffective, the Court construes Plaintiff’s Notice as a motion to drop such Defendants
pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 21. The Court grants such Motion, and
dismisses without prejudice all claims against Defendants Timothy R. Gottwald, Thomas
G. McCollum and Bruce W. Wood, as well as any and all claims against the United
States, the real party in interest.
Plaintiff also moves to remand this case to state court. (Doc. No. 22.) The Court
construes this Motion as a request to exercise its discretion to decline to exercise
ancillary jurisdiction over the remaining state law claims brought against the nonfederal
Defendants.

See Williams v. City of Atlanta, 794 F.2d 624, 625 (11th Cir. 1986).

Defendant Graham contends that this Court should retain jurisdiction over the remaining
claims because Plaintiff’s damages may arise from injuries to its trademarks and
patents, and because Plaintiff’s claims may be foreclosed by the protections of the First
Amendment. (Doc. No. 32.) While the Court is not unmindful of the potential interplay
between rights created or protected by federal law and Plaintiff’s remaining state law
claims, any such interplay is outweighed by the substantial issues of state law, such as
the immunity defense raised by Defendant Graham in his motion to dismiss, that
percolate through the remainder of this action.

Moreover, the Court is certain its

colleagues on the state bench are more than capable of addressing any issue of federal
law which may be incidental to the disposal of the state law tort claims remaining in this
action. Upon consideration, the Court concludes Plaintiff’s Motion to Remand is well

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taken.

The Court exercises its discretion and remands the state law claims which

remain in this action to the state court.
The Court notes with displeasure that the Memorandum in Support of the Motion
to Remand (Doc. 31) filed at 5:02 p.m. on June 29, 2012 recites that “Counsel for Plant
Food Systems, Inc. prior to June 29, 2012, conferred with ...Robert D. Keough, counsel
for James H. Graham, who does not oppose the motion to remand.” On June 29, 2912
at 5:37 p.m. Robert D. Keough, as counsel for James H. Graham, submitted a
Response to the Order to Show Cause (Doc. 32) in which Defendant Graham requested
the court deny the Motion to Remand. Counsel are reminded of their continuing
obligation to meet and confer and that the Court relies upon the bona fides of their
certifications regarding the position of the parties.
Accordingly, it is ORDERED AND ADJUDGED:
1.

The claims against Defendants Timothy R. Gottwald, Thomas G.

McCollum and Bruce W. Wood have been dismissed without prejudice. Therefore, the
United States of America’s Motion for Substitution of Parties (Doc. No. 8) is DENIED AS
MOOT.
2.

Plaintiff’s Motion to Correct or for Reconsideration (Doc. No. 28) is

GRANTED IN PART, as discussed in this Order.
3.

Plaintiff’s Motion to Remand (Doc. No. 22) is GRANTED. This case is

remanded to the Circuit Court of the Ninth Judicial Circuit in and for Orange County,
Florida. The Clerk of Court is directed to send a certified copy of this Order to the Clerk
of that Court.
4.

The Motions to Dismiss filed by Defendants Michael S. Irey and James H.

Graham (Doc. Nos. 17, 18) remain pending for the state court to adjudicate as it sees

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fit. The Clerk of this Court shall terminate all deadlines associated with such motions.
5.

The Clerk of Court is directed to close the file associated with this case.

DONE AND ORDERED in Chambers in Orlando, Florida, on July 2, 2012.

Copies:
counsel of record

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