Total Quality Logistics, LLC v. Keck et al

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO
WESTERN DIVISION - CINCINNATI
TOTAL QUALITY LOGISTICS, LLC, 	Case No. l:26-cv-104
Plaintiff, 	Judge Matthew W. McFarland
V.
JAKE KECK, et al.,
Defendants.
ORDER GRANTING JOINT MOTION TO REMAND (Doc. 10)
This matter is before the Court on the parties' Joint Motion to Remand (Doc. 10).
On a motion to remand, the question is whether the district court lacks subject matter
jurisdiction. See 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c). The party removing the action to federal court bears
the burden of showing that the district court has original jurisdiction over the action. Long
v. Banda Mfg. of Am., Inc., 201 F.3d 754, 757 (6th Cir. 2000). Courts construe the removal
statute strictly in favor of state court jurisdiction and resolve doubts in favor of remand.
Shamrock Oil & Gas Corp. v. Sheets, 313 U.S. 100, 108-09 (1941); Brierly v. Alusuisse Flexible
Packaging, Inc., 184 F.3d 527,534 (6th Cir. 1999).
On February 2, 2026, Defendants removed this matter from the Court of Common
Pleas for Clermont County, Ohio. (Notice of Removal, Doc. 1.) This removal was based
solely on diversity jurisdiction grounds. (Id.) Federal diversity jurisdiction involves cases
in which the parties are completely diverse and the amount in controversy exceeds
$75,000. See 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a). A plaintiff may seek to remand a case that has been
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removed on diversity jurisdiction grounds back to state court by filing a "stipulation that
clarifies that the amount in controversy is less than the jurisdictional threshold." Total
Quality Logistics, LLC v. Summit Logistics Grp., LLC, 606 F. Supp. 3d 743, 748 (S.D. Ohio
2022). "So long as the language of the stipulation is sufficiently unequivocal and binding,
that stipulation deprives the federal court of subject matter jurisdiction." Id. 	(citing
Heyman v. Lincoln Nat'l Life Ins. Co., 781 F. App'x 463, 469-70 (6th Cir. 2019)). After all, a
plaintiff is the master of its complaint and may plead or stipulate to avoid federal
jurisdiction. Smith v. Nationwide Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co., 505 F.3d 401,407 (6th Cir. 2007).
Here, Plaintiff has filed a Stipulation (Doc. 9) that includes, in part, the following
language: "all the requested relief [Plaintiff] seeks in this action, and will accept, as to any
defendant is limited to judgment of the following in a cumulative amount that is less than
$75,000.00, inclusive of compensatory damages, punitive damages, attorney's fees, and
the fair value of any injunctive relief." Simply put, the Stipulation encompasses "all of
the relief sought in [Plaintiff's] Verified Complaint." (Stipulation, Doc. 9, Pg. ID 222 .) The
Court finds that Plaintiff's Stipulation unequivocally limits the amount in controversy in
this case to no more than $75,000. This conclusion-which neither party disputes-
comports with several of this Court's previous rulings concerning similarly worded
stipulations. See Total 	Quality Logistics, LLC v. 	Choephel, 	No. l:23-CV-536, 2024 WL
1251092, at *2 (S.D. Ohio Mar. 22, 2024) (collecting cases). Additionally, upon review of
Plaintiff's Verified Complaint, no federal question jurisdiction exists under 28 U.S.C. §
1331. Thus, the Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction over the claims in Plaintiff's
Verified Complaint.
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Accordingly, the Court ORDERS the following:
1. 	The Joint Motion to Remand (Doc. 10) is GRANTED;
2. 	This case is REMANDED back to the Common Pleas Court for Clermont
County, Ohio, for all further proceedings;
3. 	The Parties shall bear their own costs and fees associated with removal, subject
to any further order from the Common Pleas Court for Clermont County, Ohio,
as it relates to costs and fees in the case;
4. 	The District Court Clerk is DIRECTED to enter this Order and mail a certified
copy of this Order to the Clerk of the Common Pleas Court for Clermont
County, Ohio; and
5. 	This matter is TERMINATED from the Court's docket.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
UNITED ST ATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO
B~-y/;-iA,{,~~
JUDGE MATTHEW W. McFARLAND
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