Coffield et al v. Village of Granville et al

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO
EASTERN DIVISION
Michael Coffield, et al.,
Plaintiffs,
V.
Village of Granville, e( a/.,
Defendants.
CaseNo. 2:26-cv-123
Judge Michael H. Watson
Magistrate Judge Jolson
OPINION AND ORDER
This is a zoning case that was removed to this Court from the Court of
Common Pleas in Licking County, Ohio. ECF No. 1. The parties now jointly
move to remand the case back to state court. ECF No. 9. After meeting and
conferring, the parties stipulate that "there was an objectively reasonable basis
for the initial removal, " but they also acknowledge that Plaintiffs "assert[ ] no
federal causes of action" because "Counts III and VI are brought under the Ohio
Constitution. " ECF No. 9-1. So, the parties agree that remand is proper. Id.
28 U. S. C. § 1441 provides that "any civil action brought in a State court of
which the district courts of the United States have original jurisdiction, may be
removed by the defendant. " 28 U. S. C. § 1441 (a). The party seeking removal
"has the burden to establish federal subject-matter jurisdiction. " Tennial v. Bank
of Am., N. A., No. 17-6377, 2020 WL 2530872, at *1 (6th Cir. 2020) (citation
omitted). Any "doubts as to the propriety of removal are resolved in favor of
Case: 2:26-cv-00123-MHW-KAJ Doc #: 11 Filed: 02/27/26 Page: 1 of 2 PAGEID #: <pageID>

remand. " Nessel ex rel. Michigan v. AmeriGas Partners, LP., 954 F. 3d 831, 834
(6th Cir. 2020) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted).
Here, Plaintiffs and Defendants are citizens of the same state (Ohio), so
there is not diversity-of-citizenship jurisdiction under 28 U. S. C. § 1332. See
Compl., ECF No. 2. And the parties have stipulated that none of Plaintiffs' claims
against Defendants arise under federal law for purposes of federal-question
jurisdiction under 28 U. S. C. § 1331. See ECF No. 9-1. Instead, the only claims
in this case are state-law claims, and the Court is mindful that the parties support
remand. See id.
Therefore, the Court GRANTS the parties' joint motion to remand, ECF
No. 9, and REMANDS this case to the Court of Common Pleas in Licking
County, Ohio.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
ICHAELH. WA SON, JUDGE
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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