Judge John G. Koeltl
A state court action by plaintiff MB Financial Bank’s predecessor sought foreclosure on a commercial mortgage lien on a Manhattan building due to failure to repay the $8 million mortgage loan. Only three of the 15 named defendants consented to removal. Defendants 56 Walker LLC, Morris and IN World Report Inc. subsequently consented to remand to state court. Because 56 Walker is bankrupt, plaintiff sought $30,615 in legal fees under 28 USC §1447(c) against Morris and IN. The court awarded $18,369 in fees. The removing defendants lacked an objectively reasonable basis for seeking removal. The procedurally defective complaint did not present a federal question but asserted only a state law foreclosure claim. Defendants arguments that problems with the loan’s transfer and its provenance rendered removal appropriate were defenses not giving rise to federal question jurisdiction. The court also applied an across-the-board reduction of 40 percent to the excessive hours expended by MB Financial Bank’s attorneys. Given that removal was “plainly improper” due to clear procedural defects and lack of federal jurisdiction, the hours expended by MB Financial Bank’s attorneys in connection with the remand motion were excessive.
