Robinett et al v. Opus Bank et al

Filing 78

ORDER - IT IS ORDERED that Opus Banks Counterclaims and Third Party Complaint are hereby DISMISSED without prejudice re: 63 Motion to Dismiss by Judge Marsha J. Pechman.(MD)

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE 8 9 10 JOHN ROBINETT, et al., 11 12 13 Plaintiffs, v. CASE NO. C12-1755 MJP ORDER ON MOTION FOR VOLUNTARY DISMISSAL OF COUNTERCLAIMS AND THIRD PARTY COMPLAINT OPUS BANK, et al., Defendants. 14 15 16 The Court has received and reviewed Defendants’ Motion for Voluntary Dismissal of 17 Counterclaims and Third Party Complaint (Dkt. No. 63), Plaintiffs’ Response (Dkt. No. 65) and 18 Defendants’ Reply (Dkt. No. 66). 19 Plaintiffs oppose the motion because it would result in “piecemeal litigation.” Defendant 20 is willing to proceed forward to the merits “[i]f the Court has no concerns about standing or 21 diversity.” Reply, p. 3. 22 The Court has concerns. Based on Defendant’s representations, it is apparent that the 23 Court had no subject matter jurisdiction over Opus Banks’ counterclaims at the time they were 24 filed. This is a non-waivable defect: “If the court determines at any time that it lacks subjectORDER ON MOTION FOR VOLUNTARY DISMISSAL OF COUNTERCLAIMS AND THIRD PARTY COMPLAINT- 1 1 matter jurisdiction, the court must dismiss the action.” FRCP 12(h). This is not an optional or 2 discretionary exercise: 3 4 [F]ederal courts have an independent obligation to ensure that they do not exceed the scope of their jurisdiction, and therefore they must… decide jurisdictional questions that the parties either overlook or elect not to press.” 5 Henderson ex rel. Henderson v. Shinseki, 131 S.Ct. 1197, 1202 (2011). 6 Therefore, the Court rules as follows: 7 IT IS ORDERED that Opus Bank’s Counterclaims and Third Party Complaint are hereby 8 DISMISSED without prejudice. 9 10 The clerk is ordered to provide copies of this order to all counsel. 11 Dated this 5th day of November, 2013. A 12 13 Marsha J. Pechman United States District Judge 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 ORDER ON MOTION FOR VOLUNTARY DISMISSAL OF COUNTERCLAIMS AND THIRD PARTY COMPLAINT- 2

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