Team Kalamazoo, LLC v. Frontier Professional Baseball, Inc. et al

Filing 1

NOTICE OF REMOVAL from Kalamazoo Circuit Court case number 2011-0664-CK filed by William Lee, Frontier Professional Baseball, Inc. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit 1 - State Court Summons and Complaint) (Finnegan, Susan) Modified text on 2/1/2012 (bd).

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN
TEAM KALAMAZOO, LLC d/b/a
THE KALAMAZOO KINGS,
Plaintiffs,

Case No.
Hon.
Lower Case No. 2011-0664-CK

vs.
FRONTIER PROFESSIONAL
BASEBALL, INC. and WILLIAM
LEE,
Defendants.
______________________________________________________________________________
ED ANNEN, JR. (P26062)
Attorney for Plaintiffs
5902 S. Westnedge Ave., Suite 2
Portage, MI 49002
[phone]

RICHARD J. GIANINO (P32933)
Plunkett Cooney
Attorney for Defendants
535 Griswold Street, Suite 2400
Detroit, Michigan 48226
TEL: [phone]
FAX: [phone]
[e-mail]
SUSAN A. FINNEGAN (P70702)
Plunkett Cooney
Attorney for Defendants
950 Trade Centre Way, Suite 310
Kalamazoo, MI 49002
TEL: [phone]
FAX: [phone]
[e-mail]

______________________________________________________________________________
NOTICE OF REMOVAL TO FEDERAL COURT
To:

Clerk of the Court
Attorney for Plaintiffs
Defendants, Frontier Professional Baseball, Inc. and William Lee (“Defendants”),

remove this action from the Circuit Court of Kalamazoo Count to the United States District

Court for the Western District of Michigan pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1332, 1441 and 1446. In
support of this Notice of Removal, Defendants state:
1.

The Summons and Complaint in this action were first received by the Defendants

on or about January 9, 2012. This removal is, therefore, timely under 28 U.S.C. §1446(b)(1).
2.

A copy of the Summons and Complaint are attached as Exhibit 1. The

documents attached as Exhibit 1 constitute all process, pleadings and orders received by
Defendants in this action.
3.

This case is removable on diversity grounds under 28 U.S.C. § 1332:
a.

Plaintiff, Team Kalamazoo, LLC is a Michigan liability company. See,
Complaint, ¶ 1.

b.

Defendant Frontier Professional Baseball, Inc. is an Ohio corporation with
its principal place business in Sauget, Illinois. Defendant William Lee
also resides in Illinois.

c.

The amount in controversy exceeds $75,000, exclusive of interest and
costs. Although Plaintiff merely requested damages in excess of the state
court jurisdictional amount (Complaint, ¶ 15, “… in excess of
$25,000…”), Defendants believe the Plaintiff seeks more than $75,000,
exclusive of interest and costs.

As such, the case is removable on diversity grounds pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1441 and 28 U.S.C.
§ 1332.
4.

The written Notice of Filing Removal will be filed promptly with the Kalamazoo

County Circuit Court as required by 28 U.S.C. § 1446(d), and copies of the same have been
served upon Plaintiffs’ counsel as verified by the attached Proof of Service.

5.

Based upon the foregoing, Defendants are entitled to remove this action to this

Court under 28 U.S.C. § 1441, et seq.
WHEREFORE, Defendants, Frontier Professional Baseball, Inc. and William Lee,
request that this Court take subject matter jurisdiction over this action, and grant any other relief
the Court deems proper.
PLUNKETT COONEY
By:

/s/ Susan A. Finnegan
Richard J. Gianino (P32933)
Susan A. Finnegan (P70702)
Attorneys for Defendants
TEL: [phone]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]

DATED: January 31, 2012
Open.20477.20198.11558126-1