Simpson v. Chassen

Background

Jeffrey Simpson, proceeding without a lawyer in federal court, removed this case from New York Supreme Court. In an earlier order dated May 29, 2025, the court granted Jared Chassen’s request to send the case back to state court because Simpson was the plaintiff and only a defendant may remove an action to federal court. The court reserved ruling on Chassen’s request for sanctions, attorney’s fees, and costs.

Simpson did not oppose Chassen’s request. Chassen argued that Simpson lacked an objectively reasonable basis for removal. The court agreed, explaining that Simpson’s position that counterclaims against him made him eligible to remove the case had no merit. The opinion also states that Simpson had made three baseless attempts to remove this action, that his conduct had caused needless expense and burdened the courts, and that he was represented by counsel in the underlying state-court action even though he appeared without counsel in this federal case.

Rulings

The court granted Chassen’s request for attorney’s fees and costs under 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c). The opinion does not set the amount of the award at this stage. It ordered Chassen to submit an accounting of the relevant fees and costs, supported by contemporaneous billing records and other documentation, within two weeks. Simpson may respond within one week after that submission, and no reply may be filed without the court’s permission.

The court also granted Chassen’s request for an anti-filing injunction. Before attempting to remove this lawsuit to federal court again, Simpson must first seek and obtain the court’s permission. The injunction is limited to future removal of this action. To the extent Chassen sought to restrict litigation conduct unrelated to this action, that request was denied.

The court denied Chassen’s request for an order holding Simpson and Benjamin Rajotte, Simpson’s lawyer in the state-court proceedings, in contempt of state-court orders. The denial was without prejudice to renewal in state court. The court noted that the case had been remanded to state court, contempt proceedings were already underway there, Rajotte had never appeared in the federal case, and the state court was the more appropriate forum for those issues.

Additional Order

The court found under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith. It therefore denied permission for Simpson to appeal without paying the filing fees. Judge Jesse M. Furman directed the Clerk of Court to mail Simpson a copy of the order.