KJ'S General Contractors, Inc. et al v. J.E. Dunn Construction Company et al

Filing 36

ORDER denying 32 Motion for Attorney Fees. Signed by Judge William T. Moore, Jr on 9/28/16. (jlm)

(

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR
THE SOUTHERN DISTRI CT OF GEOIGIA

KJ'S GENERAL CONTRACTORS,
INC.; KENNETH F. JENKS, SR.;
DIABY ELECTRIC, INC.; TIDIAN
A. DIABY; MCN CONSTRUCTION &
MANAGEMENT, INC.; LEROY V.
MAXWELL, JR.; AMERICAN
CLEARING, INC.; and ROSE L.
DEMPSEY;
Plaintiffs,
V

CASE NO. CV414-181

.

J.E. DUNN CONSTRUCTION
COMPANY, d/b/a Rives E.
Worrell Company, and RYAN E.
PRICE,
Defendants.
ORDER

Before the Court is Plaintiffs' Motion for Attorney's
Fees. (Doc. 32.) In their motion, Plaintiffs request
attorney's fees based on this Court's order remanding this
case to the Superior Court of Chatham County. (Id. at 2.) 28
U.S.C. § 1447(c) provides that "[a]n order remanding the case
may require payment of just costs and any actual expenses,
including attorney fees, incurred as a result of the removal."
An award of attorney's fees under § 1447(c) is left to the
sound discretion of the trial court. Graham Commercial Realt
Inc. v. Shamsi, 75 F. Supp. 2d 1371, 1373 (N.D. Ga. 1998)

(noting that the court need not find bad faith or improper
purpose to award fees) . The standard for awarding fees "turns
on the reasonableness of the removal," and should be awarded
pursuant to § 1447

(C)

"only where the removing party lacked an

objectively reasonable basis for seeking removal." Martin v.
Franklin Capital Corp., 546 U.S. 132, 141 (2005).
Having reviewed the record in this case, the Court
concludes that Defendants had an objectively reasonable basis
for seeking removal in this case. First, resolution of this
case possibly involves the application, but not
interpretation, of a federal statute. Second, Defendants had a
reasonable basis to contend that Defendant Price was
fraudulently joined to defeat diversity. Accordingly,
Plaintiffs' Motion for Attorney's Fees (Doc. 32) is DENIED.
SO ORDERED this Z8'day of September 2016.

WILLIAM T. MOORE, J"
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA

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