CENIZO GROUP LLC v. COGAN

Filing 4

ORDER REMANDING this action to the Magistrate Court of Houston County. Ordered by US DISTRICT JUDGE MARC THOMAS TREADWELL on 10/2/2017. (tlh)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT MIDDLE DISTRICT OF GEORGIA MACON DIVISION CENIZO GROUP LLC, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) ) CRAIG COGAN, ) ) Defendant. ) ________________________________ ) CIVIL ACTION NO. 5:17-CV-370 (MTT) ORDER Plaintiff Cenizo Group LLC filed a state law dispossessory action in the Magistrate Court of Houston County. See generally Doc. 1. Defendant attempts to remove this action, claiming that because Plaintiff refuses to address the bug infestation at his residence, his “rights . . . are clearly at stake.” Id. at 2. “The presence or absence of federal-question jurisdiction is governed by the ‘well-pleaded complaint rule,’ which provides that federal jurisdiction exists only when a federal question is presented on the face of the plaintiff’s properly pleaded complaint.” Caterpillar Inc. v. Williams, 482 U.S. 386, 392 (1987). Thus, “it is now settled law that a case may not be removed to federal court on the basis of a federal defense.” Id. Here, Defendant purports to remove the action pursuant to the civil rights provision. Doc. 1 at 3. This amounts to a federal defense. Because Plaintiff’s ejectment claim arose out of property dispossession, there is no federal-question jurisdiction. Accordingly, this action is REMANDED to the Magistrate Court of Houston County. See 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c) (“If at any time before final judgment it appears that the district court lacks subject matter jurisdiction, the case shall be remanded.”). SO ORDERED, this 2nd day of October, 2017. S/ Marc T. Treadwell MARC T. TREADWELL, JUDGE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT -2-

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