College of Charleston Foundation v. Ham

• Decision Date: 24 January 2008
• Docket Number: C.A. No. 2:07-3264-PMD.
• Citation: 585 F.Supp.2d 737
• Parties: The COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON FOUNDATION, Plaintiff, v. Benjamin HAM, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of South Carolina

585 F.Supp.2d 737

The COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON FOUNDATION, Plaintiff, v. Benjamin HAM, Defendant.

C.A. No. 2:07-3264-PMD.

United States District Court, D. South Carolina, Charleston Division.

January 24, 2008.

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Bryan Francis Hickey, Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, Greenville, SC, Neil D. Thomson, Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, Charleston, SC, for Plaintiff.

Eli Alan Poliakoff, Janene Boyce Smith, John C. McElwaine, Nelson Mullins Riley and Scarborough, George J. Kefalos, George J. Kefalos Law Office, Charleston, SC, for Defendant.

ORDER

PATRICK MICHAEL DUFFY, District Judge.

This matter is before the court on two separate motions. The Plaintiff, the College of Charleston Foundation ("Plaintiff') has filed a Motion to Remand this action back to state court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1147(c) for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Defendant Benjamin Ham ("Defendant") has filed a Memorandum in Opposition to this Motion. Defendant has also filed a Motion to Dismiss this action under Rule 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Plaintiff has filed a Memorandum in Opposition to this Motion. For the reasons set forth herein, the court denies Plaintiff's Motion to Remand and grants in part and denies in part Defendant's Motion to Dismiss.

BACKGROUND

Plaintiff is the owner of a property known as "Dixie Plantation" in Hollywood, South Carolina. "No Trespassing" signs are posted throughout the property. Dixie Plantation was left to Plaintiff pursuant to a devise which includes certain restrictions on the property's use for commercial purposes. Plaintiff alleges that Defendant, a prominent professional photographer, trespassed onto Dixie Plantation to take a certain picture, entitled "Plantation Road," which he is now offering for commercial sale.

On August 8, 2007, Plaintiff filed a Complaint against Defendant in state court in Charleston County. The Complaint alleged trespass, invasion of privacy, and conversion, and sought an injunction prohibiting further distribution of the photograph and actual, consequential, and punitive damages against Defendant. On September 27, Defendant removed this matter to this court on the grounds that federal copyright law preempts Plaintiffs claims. On October 29, Plaintiff filed a Motion to Remand, asserting that removal was improper because this court lacks subject matter jurisdiction, as all claims are governed exclusively by state law. Defendant filed a Response in Opposition to Plaintiffs Motion on November 16. Plaintiff filed a Reply to this Response on November 29.

On October 4, 2007, Defendant filed a Motion to Dismiss. Plaintiff filed a Response in Opposition on October 29, which it amended with Defendant's consent on November 9. Defendant filed a Reply to Plaintiffs Response on November 16.

DISCUSSION

If this court does not have subject matter jurisdiction to hear this case, then any decision on the case's substance and merits would be improper. Therefore, the court's initial inquiry is to decide whether to grant the Plaintiffs Motion to Remand. If that Motion is denied, only then will the court delve into whether or not to dismiss Plaintiff's claims.

I. Motion to Remand

The burden of demonstrating jurisdiction resides with "the party seeking removal." Dixon v. Coburg Dairy, Inc., 369 F.3d 811, 816 (4th Cir.2004) (citing Mulcahey v. Columbia Organic Chems. Co., 29 F.3d 148, 151 (4th Cir.1994)). The court is obliged to construe removal jurisdiction strictly because of the "significant federalism concerns" implicated. Id. Therefore, "[i]f federal jurisdiction is doubtful, a remand [to state court] is necessary." Id.

Section 1441 of Title 28 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, to the district court of the United States for the district and division embracing the place where such action is pending." 28 U.S.C. § 1441(a). In this case, Defendant alleges that removal was proper because the district court had original jurisdiction to hear Plaintiff's case under 28 U.S.C. § 1331. Section 1331 grants district courts "original jurisdiction of all civil actions arising under the Constitution, laws, or treaties of the United States." 28 U.S.C. § 1331. Thus, the court must decide whether Plaintiff's claims "aris[e] under the Constitution, laws, or treaties of the United States." Id.

Section 1447(c) of the United States Code provides that, "[i]f at any time before final judgment it appears that the district court lacks subject matter jurisdiction, the case shall be remanded." Plaintiff asserts that all three causes of action alleged in the Complaint—conversion, trespass, and invasion of privacy—are firmly grounded in state law and do not present a question of federal law, and thus this court lacks subject matter jurisdiction. Defendant disagrees, arguing that Plaintiff's claim is inextricably tied to federal copyright law, and therefore asserts that this case belongs in federal court.

Jurisdiction is established based on the allegations of the plaintiff's complaint filed in state court. See Caterpillar, Inc. v. Williams, 482 U.S. 386, 392, 107 S.Ct. 2425, 96 L.Ed.2d 318 (1987). Federal courts are presumptively without jurisdiction over civil matters, and the burden of establishing the contrary rests upon the party seeking jurisdiction. See Kokkonen v. Guardian Life Ins. Co. of Am., 511 U.S. 375, 377, 114 S.Ct. 1673, 128 L.Ed.2d 391 (1994). Removal jurisdiction is strictly construed; in doubtful cases, the action must be remanded. See Mulcahey, 29 F.3d at 151.

Generally, the presence of federal question jurisdiction is determined by the well-pleaded complaint rule. Gully v. First Nat'l Bank, 299 U.S. 109, 112-13, 57 S.Ct. 96, 81 L.Ed. 70 (1936); Louisville & Nashville R.R. v. Mottley, 211 U.S. 149, 29 S.Ct. 42, 53 L.Ed. 126 (1908). In other words, federal question jurisdiction exists "only when a federal question is presented on the face of the plaintiff's properly-pleaded complaint." Caterpillar, Inc., 482 U.S. at 392, 107 S.Ct. 2425; King v. Marriott Int'l, Inc., 337 F.3d 421, 428 (4th Cir.2003). Thus, pursuant to the wellpleaded complaint rule, the plaintiff is the master of his claim, and he may avoid federal jurisdiction by exclusive reliance on state law. Id. (internal citations omitted); see also The Fair v. Kohler Die & Specialty Co., 228 U.S. 22, 25, 33 S.Ct. 410, 57 L.Ed. 716 (1913) ("Of course, the party who brings a suit is master to decide what law he will rely upon.") (Holmes, J.); Merrell Dow Pharm., Inc. v. Thompson, 478 U.S. 804, 809, n. 6, 106 S.Ct. 3229, 92 L.Ed.2d 650 (1986) ("Jurisdiction may not be sustained on a theory that the plaintiff has not advanced."); Great Northern R. Co. v. Alexander, 246 U.S. 276, 282, 38 S.Ct. 237, 62 L.Ed. 713 (1918) ("[T]he plaintiff may by the allegations of his complaint determine the status with respect to removability of a case."). Accordingly, under the well-pleaded complaint rule, courts "ordinarily ... look no further than the plaintiff's complaint in determining whether a lawsuit raises issues of federal law capable of creating federal-question jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. 1331." Custer v. Sweeney, 89 F.3d 1156, 1165 (4th Cir.1996). Moreover, "[w]hen evaluating the propriety of removal, the district court must determine the nature of plaintiffs claims from the face of the complaint at the time the petition for removal was filed." Martin v. Lagualt, 315 F.Supp.2d 811, 814 (E.D.Va.2004) (citation omitted).

However, one significant exception to the well-pleaded complaint rule is the doctrine of complete preemption. Complete preemption "refers to that `small category of statutes that `authoriz[e] removal of actions that sought relief only under state law.''" Lontz v. Tharp, 413 F.3d 435, 438 (4th Cir.2005) (quoting Alongi v. Ford Motor Co., 386 F.3d 716, 724 (6th Cir.2004) (in turn quoting Beneficial Nat'l Bank v. Anderson, 539 U.S. 1, 6-7, 123 S.Ct. 2058, 156 L.Ed.2d 1 (2003))). Complete preemption is appropriate only "if the subject matter of a putative state law claim has been totally subsumed by federal law—such that state law cannot even treat on the subject matter ..." Id. at 439-40. The purpose of the doctrine is to "prevent[] plaintiffs from `defeat[ing] removal by omitting to plead necessary federal questions.'" Id. at 440 (quoting Franchise Tax Bd. v. Constr. Laborers Vacation Trust, 463 U.S. 1, 22, 103 S.Ct. 2841, 77 L.Ed.2d 420 (1983)). The Fourth Circuit has explained the difference between complete preemption and ordinary preemption as follows:

In assessing whether defendants have carried their burden we may not conflate "complete preemption" with "conflict" or "ordinary" preemption. While these two concepts are linguistically related, they are not as close kin jurisprudentially as their names suggest. Complete preemption is a "jurisdictional doctrine," while ordinary preemption simply declares the primacy of federal law, regardless of the forum or the claim. Ordinary preemption has been categorized as a federal "defense to the' allegations." And as a mere defense, the "preemptive effect of a federal statute . . . will not provide a basis for removal." Even if preemption forms the very core of the litigation, it is insufficient for removal.

By contrast, when complete preemption exists, there is "no such thing" as the state action, since the federal claim is treated as if it appears on the face of the complaint because it effectively displaces the state cause of action. Complete preemption thus "transform[s] the plaintiffs state-law claims into federal claims." Since the complaint is then understood to state a federal question, the well-pleaded complaint rule is satisfied, thereby justifying removal under § 1441(b).

Recognizing that complete preemption...