Capital One Bank (USA), NA v. Ponte

Filing 15

ORDER Adopting 14 Report and Recommendation and REMANDING CASE to 14A-3 Judicial District. Signed by District Judge Mark A. Goldsmith. (DWor)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN
SOUTHERN DIVISION

CAPITAL ONE BANK (USA), N.A.,
Plaintiff,

Civil Action No.
11-CV-11072

vs.
HON. MARK A. GOLDSMITH
ROBERT F. PONTE, et al.,
Defendants.
_________________________________/
ORDER ACCEPTING AND ADOPTING THE MAGISTRATE JUDGE’S REPORT AND
RECOMMENDATION AND REMANDING THE CASE TO STATE COURT
This matter is presently before the Court on the Report of Recommendation (“R&R”) of
Magistrate Judge Laurie J. Michelson, entered on May 26, 2011. Magistrate Judge Michelson
recommends that the Court either sua sponte remand this matter to state court or issue an order
requiring Defendants to show cause why the matter should not be remanded to state court. The
parties have not filed objections to the R&R, and the time to do so has expired.
The Court agrees with the Magistrate Judge that subject matter jurisdiction is lacking
because Defendants improperly rely on the claims raised in their counterclaim as the basis for
federal question jurisdiction.

As the Magistrate Judge correctly notes, federal question

jurisdiction cannot be predicated on a defendant’s counterclaim. R&R at 5. See also Chase
Manhattan Mortg. Corp. v. Smith, 507 F.3d 910, 914-915 (6th Cir. 2007) (federal question
jurisdiction proper only when a federal question is presented on the face of the plaintiff’s properly
pleaded complaint; federal counterclaims inadequate to confer federal jurisdiction). The Court
accepts and adopts the Magistrate Judge’s thorough and well-reasoned R&R, and remands the case

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to 14A-3 Judicial District Court for the State of Michigan.
SO ORDERED.
s/Mark A. Goldsmith
MARK A. GOLDSMITH
United States District Judge
Dated: June 13, 2011
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
The undersigned certifies that the foregoing document was served upon counsel of record
and any unrepresented parties via the Court's ECF System to their respective email or First Class
U.S. mail addresses disclosed on the Notice of Electronic Filing on June 13, 2011.
s/Deborah J. Goltz
DEBORAH J. GOLTZ
Case Manager

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