Busby v. One

• Decision Date: 06 January 2011
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. 10–1025 (RMU).
• Citation: 759 F.Supp.2d 81
• Parties: Wanda BUSBY, Plaintiff,v.CAPITAL ONE, N.A. et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Columbia

759 F.Supp.2d 81

Wanda BUSBY, Plaintiff,

v.CAPITAL ONE, N.A. et al., Defendants.

Civil Action No. 10–1025 (RMU).

United States District Court, District of Columbia.

Jan. 6, 2011.

Wanda Busby, Washington, DC, pro se.Marjorie B. Manne, McGuirewoods LLP, David N. Prensky, Chasen & Chasen, Washington, DC, Jason M. Somensatto, Matthew William Lee, Wilson, Elser, Moskowitz, Edelman & Dicker LLP, McLean, VA, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Denying the Plaintiff's Motion to Remand; Denying Without Prejudice the Plaintiff's Motion to Join an Additional Defendant

RICARDO M. URBINA, District Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

This matter comes before the court on the pro se plaintiff's motions to remand this case to the Superior Court for the District of Columbia and to join an additional defendant to the suit. Because the defendants have demonstrated that they properly removed this matter to the district court, the court denies the plaintiff's motion to remand. Furthermore, because the plaintiff's motion to join an additional defendant is improper at this juncture, the court denies the motion without prejudice.

II. FACTUAL & PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

On May 18, 2010, the plaintiff commenced this action in the Superior Court for the District of Columbia against Capital One, N.A. (“Capital One”) and an attorney, David Prensky. See generally Compl. The plaintiff alleged that the defendants engaged in tortious conduct in connection with a promissory note and deed of trust executed by the plaintiff in 1996. See generally id. In her complaint, the plaintiff asserted a variety of causes of action against the defendants based on District of Columbia law, including fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and conversion. Notice of Removal ¶ 1.

On June 9, 2010, the plaintiff amended her complaint to include additional claims under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”), 18 U.S.C. §§ 1961 et seq. See generally Am. Compl.; Notice of Removal ¶ 4. On June 17, 2010, Capital One filed a notice of removal in this court, asserting that the district court has original jurisdiction based on the presence of a federal question and the diversity of the parties. Notice of Removal ¶¶ 10–12.

On July 16, 2010, the plaintiff moved to remand this case to the Superior Court and to join Chasen & Chasen, the law firm with which Prensky is associated, as a defendant in this action. See generally Pl.'s Mot. to Remand & Join Party (“Pl.'s Mot.”). The defendants oppose both motions. See generally Capital One's Opp'n to Remand & Joinder (“Capital One's Opp'n”); Prensky's Opp'n to Remand; Prensky's Opp'n to Joinder. With the plaintiff's motions ripe for adjudication, the court turns to the applicable legal standards and the parties' arguments.

III. ANALYSIS

A. The Court Denies the Plaintiff's Motion to Remand

The plaintiff contends that this case was not properly removed from the Superior Court because (1) this court lacks subject matter jurisdiction over the plaintiff's claims, (2) the defendants did not provide timely written notice of removal to the plaintiff, and (3) defendant Prensky did not unambiguously consent to the removal of the action. See generally Pl.'s Mot.; Pls.' Reply. The court considers these contentions in turn.

1. The Court Has Subject Matter Jurisdiction Over the Plaintiff's Claims

The plaintiff argues that removal is improper because the court lacks subject matter jurisdiction over the plaintiff's claims. Pl.'s Mot. at 13–17; Pl.'s Reply at 13–20. The defendants maintain that the court has federal question jurisdiction over the plaintiff's RICO claim and may exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the plaintiff's state law claims. Capital One's Opp'n at 5–9; Prensky's Opp'n to Remand at 8–10. In addition, the defendants contend that the court has diversity jurisdiction over all of the plaintiff's claims. Capital One's Opp'n at 9–15; Prensky's Opp'n to Remand at 4–7.

The federal removal statute provides that “any civil action brought in a State court of which the district courts of the United States have original jurisdiction, may be removed by the defendant or the defendants” from state court to federal court. 28 U.S.C. § 1441(a). The burden of establishing the district court's original jurisdiction rests upon the party seeking removal. Wilson v. Republic Iron & Steel Co., 257 U.S. 92, 97, 42 S.Ct. 35, 66 L.Ed. 144 (1921). The district courts have original jurisdiction over “all civil action arising under the Constitution, laws, or treaties of the United States.” 28 U.S.C. § 1331; see also id. § 1441(b) (“Any civil action of which the district courts have original jurisdiction founded on a claim or right arising under the Constitution, treaties or laws of the United States shall be removable without regard to the citizenship or residence of the parties.”). The district courts also have original jurisdiction over actions involving citizens of different states where the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000. 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a).

In her amended complaint, the plaintiff has asserted claims against the defendants based on RICO, a federal statute. See Am. Compl. ¶¶ 136–210. These claims plainly “arise under” federal law for purposes of removal. See, e.g., Leitner v. United States, 679 F.Supp.2d 37, 41 (D.D.C.2010) (observing that removal under 28 U.S.C. § 1441(b) was proper based on the plaintiff's allegation that the defendants violated various federal statutes, including RICO). Accordingly, removal of the plaintiff's RICO claims was proper based on the district court's federal question jurisdiction. See 28 U.S.C. §§ 1441(a)-(b).

Once a case has been removed, the district court has original jurisdiction over the plaintiff's claim under federal law, and may thus “exercise supplemental jurisdiction over accompanying state law claims so long as those claims constitute ‘other claims that ... form part of the same case or controversy.’ ” City of Chicago v. Int'l College of Surgeons, 522 U.S. 156, 164–65, 118 S.Ct. 523, 139 L.Ed.2d 525 (1997) (holding that the district court properly exercised federal question jurisdiction over the federal claims removed from state court, “and properly recognized that it could thus also exercise supplemental jurisdiction over [the plaintiff's] state law claims” (citing 28 U.S.C. § 1367)). Indeed, the Ninth Circuit has observed that “[i]f [a] district court exercise[s] original jurisdiction over [a] RICO claim because it ‘arises under’ federal law, then it would ... also properly exercise[ ] its discretion to adjudicate sufficiently related state law claims pursuant to its pendent jurisdiction.” Emrich v. Touche Ross & Co., 846 F.2d 1190, 1195 (9th Cir.1988).

Here, the plaintiff does not dispute that her federal and D.C. law claims arise out of the same facts—namely, her alleged default on a 1996 loan and the defendants' subsequent efforts to foreclose on her property. See generally Pl.'s Mot.; Pl.'s Reply; see also generally Am. Compl. Accordingly, the plaintiff's federal and D.C. law claims form part of the same case or controversy, authorizing the court to exercise of supplemental jurisdiction over the plaintiff's D.C. law claims. See 28 U.S.C. § 1367(a).

The plaintiff asserts that even if the court has the authority to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the plaintiff's D.C. law claims, it is not required to do so.¹ Pl.'s Mot. at 19–21; Pl.'s Reply at 25. The plaintiff urges the court not to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over these claims and to remand the entire case, including the RICO claims, to the Superior Court because her claims under D.C. law “predominate” over her RICO claims. Pl.'s Mot. at 19–21; Pl.'s Reply at 25. Alternatively, the plaintiff argues that the court should at the very least remand the D.C. law claims to the Superior Court. Pl.'s Mot. at 21.

As an initial matter, the court disagrees with the plaintiff's assessment that her state law claims “predominate.” The plaintiff devotes more than seventy paragraphs of her amended complaint—nearly a third of the entire pleading—to her RICO claims. See Am. Compl. ¶¶ 136–2 10. Thus, it does not appear that the plaintiff's federal claims form such an insignificant part of the case that remand of the entire case would be appropriate. Cf. Alexander v. Goldome Credit Corp., 772 F.Supp. 1217, 1225 (M.D.Ala.1991) (concluding that remanding the entire case was appropriate because the federal claims were “relatively insignificant” compared to the state law claims).

Moreover, the plaintiff's proposals run afoul of the Circuit's pronouncement that “section 1367(a) authorizes a district court to exercise its supplemental jurisdiction in mandatory language.” Lindsay v. Gov't Emps. Ins. Co., 448 F.3d 416, 421 (D.C.Cir.2006) (collecting authorities); accord, e.g., McCoy v. Webster, 47 F.3d 404, 406 n. 3 (11th Cir.1995) (“Section 1367(a) requires the district court to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over claims which are closely related to claims over which the district court has original jurisdiction.” (emphasis added)). Given the undisputed fact that the RICO claims arise out of the same facts underlying the plaintiff's D.C. law claims, the court is required to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over her claims based on D.C. law. See Lindsay, 448 F.3d at 421.

In sum, 28 U.S.C. §§ 1441(a) and 1441(b) authorized the defendants to remove the plaintiff's RICO claims to this court. Furthermore, the court concludes that the exercise of supplemental jurisdiction over the plaintiff's state law claims is appropriate because these claims arise out of the same facts on which the RICO claims are premised. Accordingly, the court has subject matter jurisdiction over the plaintiff's claims.²

2. The Plaintiff Was Provided Prompt Written Notice of Removal

The plaintiff contends that the defendants failed to provide her timely written notice of removal. Pl.'s Mot. at 3–11; Pl.'s Reply at 2–12. The plaintiff maintains that she never received a...