The Park at Stonehaven et al v. Ross
Filing
6
OPINION AND ORDER overruling Defendant Eboni Rosss Objections 5 , adopting Magistrate Judge Justin S. Anands Report and Recommendation 3 and remanding this action to the Magistrate Court of DeKalb County, Georgia. Signed by Judge William S. Duffey, Jr on 3/7/17. (ddm)
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA
ATLANTA DIVISION
BLUE ROCK PARTNERS, LLC, as
agent of THE PARK AT
STONEHAVEN,
Plaintiff,
v.
1:16-cv-4594-WSD
EBONI ROSS,
Defendant.
OPINION AND ORDER
This matter is before the Court on Magistrate Judge Justin S. Anand’s Final
Report and Recommendation (“R&R”) [3], which recommends remanding this
dispossessory action to the Magistrate Court of DeKalb County, Georgia.
I.
BACKGROUND
On November 17, 2016, Plaintiff Blue Rock Partners, LLC, as agent of The
Park at Stonehaven (“Plaintiff”) initiated a dispossessory proceeding against
Defendant Eboni Ross (“Defendant”) in the Magistrate Court of DeKalb County,
Georgia.1 The Complaint seeks possession of premises currently occupied by
Defendant and seeks past due rent, fees and costs.
1
See [1.2] at 4.
On December 14, 2016, Defendant, proceeding pro se, removed the DeKalb
County action to this Court by filing her Petition for Removal and an application to
proceed in forma pauperis [1]. Defendant appears to assert that there is federal
subject matter jurisdiction because there is in this case a question of federal law.
In her Petition for Removal, Defendant claims that Plaintiff violated the Fair Debt
Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1692, et seq. (“FDCPA”) “and the
Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.” (Pet. for Removal [1.1] at 2).
On December 16, 2016, Magistrate Judge Anand granted Defendant’s
application to proceed IFP. The Magistrate Judge then considered, sua sponte,
whether there is federal subject matter jurisdiction. The Court found that federal
subject matter jurisdiction was not present and recommended that the Court
remand the case to the Magistrate Court of DeKalb County. The Magistrate Judge
found that the Complaint filed in Magistrate Court asserts a state court
dispossessory action and does not allege federal law claims. Because a federal law
defense or counterclaim does not confer federal jurisdiction, the Magistrate Judge
concluded that the Court does not have federal question jurisdiction over this
matter. Although not alleged in her Notice of Removal, the Magistrate Judge also
considered whether the Court has subject-matter jurisdiction based on diversity of
citizenship. The Magistrate Judge found that Defendant failed to allege any facts
2
to show that the parties’ citizenship is completely diverse, or that the amount in
controversy exceeds $75,000. The Magistrate Judge concluded that the Court does
not have diversity jurisdiction over this matter and that this case be remanded to
the state court.
On December 29, 2016, Defendant filed her “Motion to Dismiss
Dispssessory [sic] Action,” which the Court construes as her Objections [5] to the
R&R.
II.
DISCUSSION
A.
Legal Standard
After conducting a careful and complete review of the findings and
recommendations, a district judge may accept, reject, or modify a magistrate
judge’s report and recommendation. 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1); Williams
v. Wainwright, 681 F.2d 732 (11th Cir. 1982), cert. denied, 459 U.S. 1112 (1983).
A district judge “shall make a de novo determination of those portions of the report
or specified proposed findings or recommendations to which objection is made.”
28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1). With respect to those findings and recommendations to
which objections have not been asserted, the Court must conduct a plain error
review of the record. United States v. Slay, 714 F.2d 1093, 1095 (11th Cir. 1983),
cert. denied, 464 U.S. 1050 (1984).
3
Defendant’s Objections are conclusory and do not address the Magistrate
Judge’s reasons for recommending remand.2 See Marsden v. Moore, 847 F.2d
1536, 1548 (11th Cir. 1988) (“Parties filing objections to a magistrate’s report and
recommendation must specifically identify those findings objected to. Frivolous,
conclusive, or general objections need not be considered by the district court.”).
These are not valid objections, and the Court will not consider them. The Court
reviews the R&R for plain error.
B.
Analysis
The Magistrate Judge found that Plaintiff’s Complaint does not present a
federal question and that the parties are not diverse. The Court does not find any
plain error in these conclusions. It is well-settled that federal-question jurisdiction
exists only when a federal question is presented on the face of a plaintiff’s
well-pleaded complaint and that the assertions of defenses or counterclaims based
on federal law cannot confer federal question jurisdiction over a cause of action.
See Beneficial Nat’l Bank v. Anderson, 539 U.S. 1, 6 (2003); Holmes Group, Inc.
v. Vornado Air Circulation Sys., Inc., 535 U.S. 826, 830-32 (2002). The record
also does not show that Plaintiff and Defendant are citizens of different states, or
2
For example, Defendant states that the “Dispossessory action fails to state a
claim that grounds for relief may be granted” and that “Plaintiff has unlawfully
violated 15 U.S.C. [sic] 1692(f)(6)(A) with Dispossessory in the Magistrate Court
of DeKalb County.” (Obj. at 1-2).
4
that the amount in controversy exceeds the statutory threshold of $75,000. See 28
U.S.C. § 1332(a); Fed. Home Loan Mortg. Corp. v. Williams, Nos.
1:07-cv-2864-RWS, 1:07-cv-2865-RWS, 2008 WL 115096, at *2 (N.D. Ga. Jan.
29, 2008) (“[A] dispossessory proceeding under Georgia law is not an ownership
dispute, but rather only a dispute over the limited right to possession, title to
property is not at issue and, accordingly, the removing Defendant may not rely on
the value of the property as a whole to satisfy the amount in controversy
requirement.”).
Because the Court lacks both federal question and diversity jurisdiction, the
Magistrate Judge recommended that this action be remanded to the magistrate
court. 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.”). Defendant did not assert a valid objection to this recommendation
and the Court finds no plain error in it.3
3
Even if subject matter jurisdiction existed, the Court cannot provide
Defendant the relief she seeks—a stay of state court eviction proceedings—
because a federal court is prohibited under the Anti-Injunction Act, 28 U.S.C.
§ 2283, from enjoining a state court eviction proceeding. To the extent Defendant
seeks to have the Court find that a completed dispossessory proceeding was
wrongful and overturn a writ of possession issued by a state court, the Court lacks
jurisdiction under the Rooker-Feldman doctrine to do so. Doe v. Fla. Bar, 630
F.3d 1336, 1341 (11th Cir. 2011) (Federal district courts “generally lack
jurisdiction to review a final state court decision.”) (citing D.C. Court of Appeals
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III.
CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendant Eboni Ross’s Objections [5]
are OVERRULED.
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Magistrate Judge Justin S. Anand’s
Report and Recommendation [3] is ADOPTED.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that this action be REMANDED to the
Magistrate Court of DeKalb County, Georgia.
SO ORDERED this 7th day of March, 2017.
v. Feldman, 460 U.S. 462 (1983) & Rooker v. Fidelity Trust Co., 263 U.S. 413
(1923)).
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