Delta Build Services, Inc. v. E2F Homes, LLC; Francisco Orselli; Elena Orselli; Ashley Ireland; Delgado Legal, P.A.

Summary

The United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida grants in part and denies in part Delta Build Services, Inc.’s motion to remand. The court holds that the state-law Florida RICO claim does not present a substantial federal question and remands the case to Florida state court, but concludes that the unserved defendant’s consent was not required for removal. The court denies attorney’s fees because the removal had an objectively reasonable basis.

Holdings

1. References to federal mail-fraud, wire-fraud, and trade-secret statutes as predicate acts in the Florida RICO claim did not establish federal-question jurisdiction because the federal issues were not shown to be necessarily raised, actually disputed, substantial to the federal system as a whole, and capable of resolution in federal court without disrupting the federal-state balance.
2. Delgado Legal's consent was not required because it had not been properly served when the action was removed.
3. Attorney's fees under 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c) were properly denied because the removing defendants had an objectively reasonable basis for seeking removal.

Questions Presented

1. Whether references to federal statutes as predicate acts in a Florida RICO claim created federal-question jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1331.
2. Whether removal was defective because Delgado Legal, an unserved defendant, did not consent to removal.
3. Whether Delta Build Services was entitled to attorney's fees under 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c) following remand.

Disposition

remanded