WHITNEY LANE HOLDINGS, LLC, Plaintiff, v. DON REALTY, LLC, et al., Defendants., 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 29778

Summary

The court found that in light of the fact that the entity that removed the matter to the court was not an official party to the state court action, removal under 28 U.S.C.S. § 1452 was improvident and jurisdictionally defective. The court therefore lacked subject matter jurisdiction over the state court fraud action and was obligated to remand the matter to state court pursuant to 28 U.S.C.S. § 1447(c). Moreover, the court found that discretionary abstention under 28 U.S.C.S. § 1334 would be appropriate, particularly because remand would maximize efficiency, the state court was familiar with the actions, the state court was also handling related actions, and all of the documents and witnesses were located in the county where the state court was located. The matter could not have been brought in a federal court absent bankruptcy jurisdiction under § 1334. Because the court found that remand or voluntary abstention was appropriate, the motion for a change of venue was moot.