Happe v. Block, Inc.

Filing 22

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER : IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendant's Unopposed Motion Seeking Clarification, Doc. #21 , is GRANTED. The Court will not rule on the Joint Motion to Stay, Doc. #16 , until it has ruled on the Motion to Remand, Doc. #15 . IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Defendant shall file any opposition to the Motion to Remand, Doc. #15 , no later than Tuesday, June 18, 2024. Signed by District Judge Matthew T. Schelp on 06/05/2024. (KCD)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
EASTERN DIVISION
CHLOE HAPPE,
Plaintiff,
vs.
BLOCK, INC.,
Defendant.

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Case No. 4:24-cv-00622-MTS

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
The Federal Arbitration Act does not confer subject matter jurisdiction on federal
courts. See Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC v. Johnson, 952 F.3d 978, 980 n.2 (8th
Cir. 2020). Therefore, before the Court can determine whether to stay the proceedings
here pursuant to 9 U.S.C. § 3 and the parties’ Joint Motion to Stay, the Court must be
assured it has diversity jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a) as asserted in the Notice of
Removal. See 28 U.S.C. § 1447 (“If at any time before final judgment it appears that the
district court lacks subject matter jurisdiction, the case shall be remanded.”); Brooks v.
City of Des Moines, 844 F.3d 978, 979 (8th Cir. 2016) (“Lack of the jurisdiction of the
subject matter of litigation cannot be waived by the parties or ignored by the court.”
(quoting Hunter v. Underwood, 362 F.3d 468, 476 (8th Cir. 2004))); cf. Countrywide
Home Loans, Inc., v. Mortg. Guar. Ins. Corp., 642 F.3d 849, 854 (9th Cir. 2011)
(explaining “[t]he express terms of the [FAA] do not allow a district court to abstain from
granting relief in cases where its jurisdiction is proper” (emphasis added)).
Accordingly,

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendant’s Unopposed Motion Seeking
Clarification, Doc. [21], is GRANTED. The Court will not rule on the Joint Motion to
Stay, Doc. [16], until it has ruled on the Motion to Remand, Doc. [15].
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Defendant shall file any opposition to the
Motion to Remand, Doc. [15], no later than Tuesday, June 18, 2024.
Dated this 5th day of June 2024.

MATTHEW T. SCHELP
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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