Federal Jurisdiction – Statutory Interpretation

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Nicholas Webb, et al. v. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc.,

Case No.: 17-2526

Officials: RIPPLE, SYKES, and BARRETT, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Federal Jurisdiction – Statutory Interpretation

The parties cast this case as one about arbitral immunity, which is the ground on which the district court dismissed the complaint. It turns out, however, that the case is really about federal jurisdiction. We asked the parties to submit supplemental briefs on this question, and they both contend that subject matter jurisdiction exists. Their strongest argument is grounded in the diversity statute, but the amount in controversy requirement presents an obstacle: the complaint satisfies it only if Illinois law permits the plaintiffs to recover their legal expenses from the underlying arbitration, this suit, or both. We conclude that while Illinois law permits the recovery of legal fees as damages in limited circumstances, those circumstances are not present here. We VACATE the judgment for lack of jurisdiction and REMAND the case to the district court with instructions to remand to state court.

Vacated and Remanded

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.