Zandman v. Citibank, N.A.

Background

Jerry Zandman filed the action in New York State Supreme Court, Rockland County, on December 14, 2017. He asserted claims under New York General Business Law Article 34, the Fair Credit Billing Act, and the Truth in Lending Act against the New York Yankees Partnership, Citibank, N.A., and Citi (R) Cards. The action was removed to the Southern District of New York based on federal-question jurisdiction over the federal claims against Citibank.

The federal claims were fully resolved through arbitration between Zandman and Citibank. Citibank was then terminated as a party, and no federal claims remained. The opinion states that there was no diversity jurisdiction among the remaining parties and that the amount in controversy was less than $75,000.

Jurisdiction and remand

The court issued an order asking why the case should not be returned to state court for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. It noted that, because the federal claims had been resolved and the case was far from trial, the court appeared likely to decline supplemental jurisdiction—the federal court's authority to hear related state-law claims—under 28 U.S.C. § 1367(c)(3). Zandman agreed with that analysis and supported remand. The Yankees did not respond.

Disposition

The court declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the remaining claims. It remanded the action in its entirety to the New York State Supreme Court, County of Rockland, for further proceedings, and directed the clerk to close the federal case. The opinion's caption names The New York Yankees Partnership as the defendant, although the supplied case name refers to Citibank, N.A.; Citibank had been terminated before this remand order.