BENTON – Senior U.S. District Judge Phil Gilbert ordered Edwardsville lawyer Brian Wendler to pay fees and costs for defendants that litigated in the wrong court for seven months due to an error he committed.
Gilbert passed the bill to Wendler on March 26, in the process of remanding the case to St. Clair County where it began.
Trailer maker Cottrell Inc. and its contractor Cambarloc Engineering had removed it to district court on the basis of information Wendler provided.
Wendler represents Jack Cooper Transport car hauler Jimmy D. Hill, who claims he injured his left hand and arm while using a defective ratchet.
Wendler filed suit for Hill and wife Barbara Hill last June, identifying Cottrell as a Georgia corporation and Cambarloc as a Missouri corporation.
He didn’t identify Hill’s citizenship.
Cottrell and Cambarloc moved for a more definite statement, to obtain the state of citizenship and other information.
Wendler responded that the Hills weren’t residents of Georgia or Missouri, the homes of the defendants.
His statement established complete diversity, so Cottrell removed the suit to district court in September.
Cottrell counsel Dan Carpenter of Des Peres, Mo. wrote that Jimmy D. Hill and Barbara Hill are common names.
He wrote that in other cases Wendler filed, plaintiffs routinely disclosed their states of citizenship.
In January, Wendler moved to remand the suit to St. Clair County.
He wrote that plaintiffs were never residents or citizens of any state but Georgia.
“Plaintiffs’ counsel had confused these plaintiffs with other plaintiffs and mistakenly indicated they were not residents or citizens of Georgia,” Wendler wrote.
“This case has no basis for jurisdiction in this court other than based on an error by plaintiffs’ counsel for which the undersigned apologizes.”
Carpenter opposed the motion and proposed that Gilbert assert removal jurisdiction in order to dismiss the suit for lack of personal jurisdiction.
He claimed removal wouldn’t have occurred if Wendler had answered email.
He wrote that if Gilbert granted remand, he should award fees and costs based on the wasted and unnecessary expense and work caused by the alleged mistake.
In reply, Wendler shifted from apology to indignation.
“Cottrell never volunteers any information via informal emails in cases like this spanning decades,” Wendler wrote.
“It should not be surprised by and should not be heard to complain by plaintiffs adopting defendant’s same position.
“It was an honest mistake. It was readily and promptly admitted.
“It is absurd for Cottrell to seek sanctions under the circumstances.”
Gilbert remanded the suit for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, finding he didn’t need to consider personal jurisdiction.
He found Cambarloc and Jack Cooper Transport are from Missouri, plaintiffs and Cottrell are from Georgia, and the injury occurred in Illinois.
He found a state court should determine whether there are minimum contacts with Illinois such that maintenance of the suit does not offend traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice.
“For all that, this case was removed based on a careless error by the plaintiff’s counsel,” Gilbert wrote.
“The plaintiffs must therefore pay the defendants’ attorney fees and costs associated with removal and responding to the plaintiffs’ motion to remand.”
Prior to the case having been removed to federal court, Circuit Judge Christopher Kolker presided in St. Clair County.