Coastal Federal Credit Union v. Sherman Joseph aka Sherman Sherwin Joseph, et al.

Summary

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina grants Coastal Federal Credit Union's amended motion to remand a foreclosure action to Wake County Superior Court. The court concludes that the defendants' removal was untimely and that their extensive participation in the state-court proceedings waived any right to remove. The court rejects reliance on references to the Americans with Disabilities Act as a basis for federal-question jurisdiction and remands the action in its entirety.

Holdings

1. The removal was untimely because the defendants identified no amended pleading, motion, order, or other paper received from which removability first became ascertainable within the applicable thirty-day period.
2. The defendants waived their right to remove by engaging in substantial defensive action in state court for approximately six months before filing the notice of removal.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the defendants timely removed the foreclosure action under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1446(a) and 1446(b)(3).
2. Whether references to the Americans with Disabilities Act or ADA accommodations in a state-court order created a basis for federal removal jurisdiction.
3. Whether the defendants waived the right to remove by substantially litigating and pursuing defensive actions in state court before removal.

Disposition

remanded