Sinclair Funding Group Inc. v. Bennett
- Laura Swain
- 1:24-cv-01835
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Sinclair Funding Group v. Bennett, Judge Swain remanded the removed state foreclosure action because it was filed in the wrong federal district.
The parties to the removed state-court foreclosure action; the federal action was closed and all pending matters were terminated.
What happened
Sinclair Funding Group Inc. v. Bennett concerned Merit Bennett’s attempt to move a foreclosure case from New York State Supreme Court in Monroe County to the Southern District of New York. Bennett was representing himself and filed the removal notice for himself and Bennett Law Group LLC.
The court explained that federal law requires a state-court case to be removed to the federal district covering the place where the state case is pending. Monroe County is in the Western District of New York, not the Southern District of New York, so the removal was improper.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain remanded the action to the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Monroe County. She directed the clerk to send that court a copy of the order and close the federal case; all pending matters were terminated.
The detailed version
- Sinclair Funding Group Inc. v. Bennett · No. 1:24-cv-01835
- Laura Swain
- Mar. 12, 2024
Background
Merit Bennett, appearing without a lawyer, filed a notice of removal seeking to move a foreclosure action from the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Monroe County, to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. He filed the notice for himself and Bennett Law Group LLC. Sinclair Funding Group, Inc. was the plaintiff. Bennett asserted that the federal court had diversity-of-citizenship jurisdiction and stated that the damages exceeded $75,000, without admitting the allegations in the state-court case.
Why the Court Remanded the Action
The court explained that federal law permits removal only to the federal district and division covering the location where the state case is pending. Monroe County is in the Western District of New York. Because the case was removed to the Southern District of New York instead, the removal was improper. The court therefore did not need to resolve the parties’ diversity or damages assertions.
Ruling
The court remanded the action under 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c) to the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Monroe County. The clerk was directed to send that court a copy of the order and close the federal action. All pending matters were terminated.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.