First Hawaiian Bank v. Mather Real Estate, LLC et al

Filing 7

ORDER REMANDING ACTION TO STATE OF HAWAII CIRCUIT COURT OF THE FIRST CIRCUIT - Signed by JUDGE LESLIE E. KOBAYASHI on 8/7/13. "On the basis of the foregoing, this Court HEREBY REMANDS this action to the First Circuit Court. Thi s Court DIRECTS the Clerk's Office to transmit a certified copy of this order to clerk of the First Circuit Court. This Court CAUTIONS Mather that multiple attempts to remove the same action based on the same grounds are improper. Any future attempts to remove the Complaint in First Circuit Court Civil No. 13-1-0214-01 on the same grounds, which have been rejected in CV 13-00294 and in the instant case, may result in an award of expenses, including attorneys'fees, in favor of First Hawaiian Bank following a motion to remand pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c)." (emt, )CERTIFICATE OF SERVICEParticipants registered to receive electronic notifications received this document electronic ally at the e-mail address listed on the Notice of Electronic Filing (NEF). Diane Mather served by first class mail at c/o Mail Acceptor: April Rush, Notary Public, 1050 Bishop Street, # 385, Honolulu, HI 96813 (address on Notice of Removal) on August 7, 2013. Modified on 8/7/2013 (emt, ).

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF HAWAII
FIRST HAWAIIAN BANK,

)
)
Plaintiff,
)
)
vs.
)
)
DIANE ELIZABETH MATHER, etc., )
et al.,
)
)
Defendants.
)
____________________________ )

CIVIL NO. 13-00352 LEK-KSC

ORDER REMANDING ACTION TO STATE OF HAWAI`I
CIRCUIT COURT OF THE FIRST CIRCUIT
On July 17, 2013, Defendant Diane Elizabeth Mather,
individually and as sole trustee of the Hana2008 Living Trust
(“Mather”), filed a Notice of Removal.

The Notice of Removal

pertained to the Complaint in First Hawaiian Bank v. Mather Real
Estate, LLC, et al., Civil No. 13-1-0214-01, filed on January 25,
2013 in the State of Hawai`i Circuit Court of the First Circuit
(“First Circuit Court”).

[Notice of Removal, Exh. B.]

This is the same state court action which Mather
attempted to remove in First Hawaiian Bank v. Mather Real Estate,
LLC, et al., CV 13-00294 JMS-RLP (“CV 13-00294”).
JMS-RLP, Notice of Removal, Exh. B.]

[CV 13-00294

The district judge in

CV 13-00294 remanded the action to the First Circuit Court,
ruling that the Complaint did not provide a basis for either
diversity jurisdiction or federal question jurisdiction.

[CV 13-

00294, Order Remanding Action to the First Circuit Court of the

State of Hawaii, filed 6/27/13 (dkt. no. 7) (“Remand Order”).]
The district judge found that First Hawaiian Bank “alleges basic
state law claims based on Defendants’ alleged default on loans.”
[Id. at 3.]

Mather filed a motion for reconsideration of the

Remand Order, and the district judge denied the motion.
00294, dkt. nos. 8, 9.]

[CV 13-

Mather filed the Notice Removal in the

instant case less than two weeks after the denial of her motion
for reconsideration in CV 13-00294.
This Court notes that the collateral estoppel doctrine
may not apply to the Remand Order in CV 13-00294.

See Wells

Fargo Bank, N.A. v. WMR e-PIN, LLC, 653 F.3d 702, 705 n.4 (8th
Cir. 2011) (some citations omitted) (citing Health Cost Controls
of Ill., Inc. v. Washington, 187 F.3d 703, 708 (7th Cir. 1999);
Winters v. Diamond Shamrock Chem. Co., 149 F.3d 387, 395 (5th
Cir. 1998)); see also Hohu v. Hatch, No. C–12–4906 EMC, 2013 WL
1629196, at *7 (N.D. Cal. Apr. 16, 2013) (“The Ninth Circuit has
not yet opined directly on the question of whether the
unappealable nature of a remand order deprives it of any
preclusive effect in subsequent proceedings.”).

This Court,

however, agrees with the analysis in the Remand Order and adopts
that analysis in the instant case.
This Court therefore CONCLUDES, for the reasons set
forth in the CV 13-00294 Remand Order, that the Complaint does
not set forth any basis for federal jurisdiction.

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CONCLUSION
On the basis of the foregoing, this Court HEREBY
REMANDS this action to the First Circuit Court.

This Court

DIRECTS the Clerk’s Office to transmit a certified copy of this
order to clerk of the First Circuit Court.
This Court CAUTIONS Mather that multiple attempts to
remove the same action based on the same grounds are improper.
Any future attempts to remove the Complaint in First Circuit
Court Civil No. 13-1-0214-01 on the same grounds, which have been
rejected in CV 13-00294 and in the instant case, may result in an
award of expenses, including attorneys’ fees, in favor of First
Hawaiian Bank following a motion to remand pursuant to 28 U.S.C.
§ 1447(c).
IT IS SO ORDERED.

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DATED AT HONOLULU, HAWAII, August 7, 2013.

/S/ Leslie E. Kobayashi
Leslie E. Kobayashi
United States District Judge

FIRST HAWAIIAN BANK V. DIANE ELIZABETH MATHER, ETC., ET AL; CIVIL
NO. 13-00352 LEK-KSC; ORDER REMANDING ACTION TO STATE OF HAWAI`I
CIRCUIT COURT OF THE FIRST CIRCUIT

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