Kirkland v. Midland Mortgage Co., No. 00-10765
| Court | United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (11th Circuit) |
| Writing for the Court | Before ANDERSON, Chief Judge, and MARCUS and KRAVITCH; ANDERSON |
| Citation | 243 F.3d 1277 |
| Parties | (11th Cir. 2001) Eliza KIRKLAND, individually, and on behalf of all other Persons Similarly Situated, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. MIDLAND MORTGAGE COMPANY, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Docket Number | No. 00-10765 |
| Decision Date | 07 March 2001 |
Page 1277
v.
MIDLAND MORTGAGE COMPANY, Defendant-Appellant.
Eleventh Circuit.
March 19, 2001
Page 1278
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia. (No. 98-00083-CV-1), Dudley H. Bowen, Jr., Chief Judge.
Before ANDERSON, Chief Judge, and MARCUS and KRAVITCH, Circuit Judges.
ANDERSON, Chief Judge:
Midland Mortgage Company ("Midland") brings this interlocutory appeal of the district court's certification of a class and denial of Midland's motion for summary judgment in this diversity action. Because we conclude that the district court lacked subject matter jurisdiction, we vacate and remand with instructions to remand to the state court.
I. FACTS
The plaintiff, Eliza Kirkland, obtained a mortgage from Cameron-Brown in 1985 for her residence. Ten years later, Midfirst Bank acquired the mortgage and Midland began servicing it through an arrangement these two corporations have. As part of its responsibilities, Midland ensures that the mortgagor has maintained hazard insurance because this protects the mortgagee's collateral. If the mortgagor fails to retain the insurance, Midland is authorized to institute collection remedies, including foreclosure. If the mortgagor is unable to obtain insurance, Midland obtains "force-placed" or "lender-placed" insurance on the property through Balboa Insurance Company ("Balboa").
Midland has a special procedure that it uses when placing insurance on these properties. First, it sends a series of warning letters to the mortgagor which
Page 1279
state when the insurance will be placed on the property, that the insurance may be less than the previous coverage, what the cost of the new premium will be, and that the insurance may be placed with an affiliate of Midland, i.e. FirstInsure. Midland also states that usually it calls the mortgagor before placing the insurance with FirstInsure. FirstInsure acquires the insurance policies from Balboa, which insures properties that other companies decline to insure. Balboa pays commissions of between twenty and thirty-three percent to FirstInsure. This relationship with Balboa permits Midland to cancel policies and return premiums and also to have policies issued retroactively.
Ms. Kirkland's mortgage required her to maintain hazard insurance on her property, and she acquired her insurance through Allstate Insurance Company ("Allstate"). On October 6, 1995, Allstate issued a cancellation notice of her insurance, effective on September 29, 1995. Midland acquired the servicing rights to the Kirkland mortgage in October 1995 but the notice of cancellation was sent to the previous servicing company. Thus Midland did not learn of the cancellation until January 1996. Because the property had apparently been uninsured for several months, Midland dispensed with its usual procedures and sent Ms. Kirkland only the last letter, informing her that insurance had been issued and that the premium was $708, which would be charged to her escrow account. This letter was dated April 3, 1996. After her escrow account was analyzed, Midland sent her an escrow disclosure statement on July 29, 1996 informing her of the increase in mortgage payment that was needed.
Ms. Kirkland contacted Midland in August 1996, seeking an explanation. There were numerous telephone contacts until the end of September 1997, when Allstate faxed a copy of its records showing coverage for the second year of Balboa coverage, September 1996 through September 1997. In one of the two faxes, Allstate stated that the policy was a continuous coverage policy but it did not explain the notice of cancellation or whether the insurance had been reinstated during the first year of Balboa coverage, September 1995 through September 1996. Midland cancelled the Balboa coverage and refunded Ms. Kirkland's payment for the second year.
Ms. Kirkland filed suit in the Superior Court of Richmond County against Midland and Balboa Insurance Company ("Balboa") on October 13, 1997, alleging breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, theft, and money had and received. Shortly thereafter, Balboa removed the case to federal court. On December 30, 1997, the district court remanded the suit back to state court. On March 5, 1998, Ms. Kirkland dismissed Balboa without prejudice. Thereafter, Midland removed the action to the district court on April 23, 1998. Ms. Kirkland initially moved to remand but later withdrew that motion.1
In October 1998, Ms. Kirkland moved for class certification, and the district court granted the motion on January 4, 2000, for the breach of fiduciary duty claim. At the same time, the district court denied Midland's motion for reconsideration of its denial of Midland's motion for summary judgment. Both the denial of the motion for summary judgment and the certification of the class were certified by the district court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1292(b), and this court granted permission to appeal pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1292(b) and Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(f). Thus, we have appellate jurisdiction of this interlocutory appeal.
II. JURISDICTION
Federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction and are required to inquire into their jurisdiction at the earliest
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possible point in the proceeding. See University of South Alabama v. American Tobacco Co., 168 F.3d 405, 410 (11th Cir.1999). Appellate courts must also examine the subject matter jurisdiction of the lower courts in actions that they review. See id. (citing Mitchell v. Maurer, 293 U.S. 237, 244, 55 S.Ct. 162, 165, 79 L.Ed. 338 (1934)).
One of the limited grounds of jurisdiction that federal courts have is diversity jurisdiction, which is the only source of jurisdiction available in this case. Article III of the Constitution provides the outer limits of the federal courts' jurisdiction and vests in Congress the power to determine what the extent of the lower courts' jurisdiction will be. See Morrison v. Allstate Indemnity Co., 228 F.3d 1255, 1261 (11th Cir.2000). The diversity jurisdiction statute, 28 U.S.C. 1332, requires not only diversity of citizenship among the parties but also that "the matter in controversy exceeds the sum or value of $75,000, exclusive of interest and costs." 28 U.S.C. 1332.
Generally, if no single plaintiff can satisfy the...
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Gulfstream Nat. Gas Sys. v. Le Redd, CA 19-0270-KD-MU
...also Friedman v. New York Life Ins. Co., 410 F.3d 1350, 1353 (11th Cir. 2005) ("As this Court noted in Kirkland v. Midland Mortgage Co., 243 F.3d 1277 (11th Cir. 2001), '[i]n removalPage 10 cases, the burden is on the party who sought removal to demonstrate that federal jurisdiction exists.......
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Tonea v. Bank of Am., N.A., No. 1:13–cv–1435–WSD.
...removal cases, the party seeking removal has the burden to demonstrate that federal jurisdiction exists, Kirkland v. Midland Mortg. Co., 243 F.3d 1277, 1281 n. 5 (11th Cir.2001), and “uncertainties are resolved in favor of remand.” Burns v. Windsor Ins. Co., 31 F.3d 1092, 1095 (11th Cir.199......
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Lowery v. Alabama Power Co., No. 06-16324.
...the naked pleading context. See Friedman v. N.Y. Life Ins. Co., 410 F.3d 1350, 1352-53 (11th Cir.2005); Kirkland v. Midland Mortgage Co., 243 F.3d 1277, 1281 n. 5 (11th Cir.2001). We are bound to adhere to circuit precedent. Defendants must establish the jurisdictional amount by a preponder......
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Day v. Persels, No. 12–11887.
...pursuant to § 636(c) is a jurisdictional question to be considered sua sponte. McNab, 240 F.3d at 1328;Kirkland v. Midland Mortg. Co., 243 F.3d 1277, 1279–80 (11th Cir.2001). Here, if the magistrate judge lacked jurisdiction because the unnamed class members are “parties” who did not consen......
-
Gulfstream Nat. Gas Sys. v. Le Redd, CA 19-0270-KD-MU
...also Friedman v. New York Life Ins. Co., 410 F.3d 1350, 1353 (11th Cir. 2005) ("As this Court noted in Kirkland v. Midland Mortgage Co., 243 F.3d 1277 (11th Cir. 2001), '[i]n removalPage 10 cases, the burden is on the party who sought removal to demonstrate that federal jurisdiction exists.......
-
Tonea v. Bank of Am., N.A., No. 1:13–cv–1435–WSD.
...removal cases, the party seeking removal has the burden to demonstrate that federal jurisdiction exists, Kirkland v. Midland Mortg. Co., 243 F.3d 1277, 1281 n. 5 (11th Cir.2001), and “uncertainties are resolved in favor of remand.” Burns v. Windsor Ins. Co., 31 F.3d 1092, 1095 (11th Cir.199......
-
Lowery v. Alabama Power Co., No. 06-16324.
...the naked pleading context. See Friedman v. N.Y. Life Ins. Co., 410 F.3d 1350, 1352-53 (11th Cir.2005); Kirkland v. Midland Mortgage Co., 243 F.3d 1277, 1281 n. 5 (11th Cir.2001). We are bound to adhere to circuit precedent. Defendants must establish the jurisdictional amount by a preponder......
-
Day v. Persels, No. 12–11887.
...pursuant to § 636(c) is a jurisdictional question to be considered sua sponte. McNab, 240 F.3d at 1328;Kirkland v. Midland Mortg. Co., 243 F.3d 1277, 1279–80 (11th Cir.2001). Here, if the magistrate judge lacked jurisdiction because the unnamed class members are “parties” who did not consen......