ALLEN v. GREENE COUNTY

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF GEORGIA ATHENS DIVISION CORNELIUS A. ALLEN, ) ) Plaintiff, ) CIVIL ACTION FILE NO.: ) v. ) 3:25-cv-00171-TES ) GREENE COUNTY, ROBERT ALLEN ) KLINE, & JOHN DOES, in their official & ) individual capacities, ) ) Defendants. ) CONSENT ORDER OF DISMISSAL OF FEDERAL CLAIMS AND REMAND This matter comes before the Court on the Withdrawal of all Plaintiff’s Federal Law Claims & Plaintiff’s Motion to Remand (“Motion to Remand”) (Doc. 7), and as also reflected by the consent signatures of undersigned counsel for the respective parties, this Order is also entered based on the consent of the parties. The Motion to Remand was filed on November 6, 2025, after the October 30, 2025 filing by Defendant Greene County (the “County”) of its Notice of Removal (Doc. 1) and the November 4, 2025 filing of the County’s Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff’s Amended Complaint (Doc. 6). On November 6, 2025, Defendant Robert Allen Kline (“Kline”) also filed a Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff’s Amended Complaint. (Doc. 8). The Motion to Remand first indicates that Plaintiff withdraws all federal law claims against Defendants in the above-styled action and then moves for the remand of this removed case based solely on lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The Court construes Plaintiff’s stated withdrawal of all federal law claims against the County and Kline as a motion to amend his operative Amended Complaint pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15 to omit all federal law claims against Defendants brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 or otherwise. That motion to amend the Amended Complaint is hereby granted and all federal law claims against Defendants brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 or otherwise are hereby dismissed without prejudice. Given the dismissal of all federal law claims against Defendants, the Court concludes that it now lacks federal subject matter jurisdiction over Plaintiff’s Amended Complaint and supplemental jurisdiction over the remaining state law tort claims in the Amended Complaint. 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c); Royal Canin U. S. A., Inc. v. Wullschleger, 604 U.S. 22, 30, (2025) (“When a plaintiff amends [his] complaint following [his] suit’s removal, a federal court’s jurisdiction depends on what the new complaint says. If (as here) the plaintiff eliminates the federal-law claims that enabled removal, leaving only state-law claims behind, the court’s power to decide the dispute dissolves. With the loss of federal-question jurisdiction, the court loses as well its supplemental jurisdiction over the state claims.”). Accordingly, the Court remands the remaining state law tort claims in the Amended Complaint to the Superior Court of Greene County based on this Court’s lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Based on the instant dismissal of the federal law claims in this action and remand of the remaining state law tort claims in the Amended Complaint to the Superior Court of Greene County, the respective Motions to Dismiss filed in this Court by the County and Kline are denied as moot. In conclusion, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED AND ADJUDGED AS FOLLOWS: 1. All federal law claims in Plaintiff’s operative Amended Complaint against Defendants brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 or otherwise are DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE pursuant to Plaintiff’s statement of the withdrawal of all federal law claims against them and the consent of the parties. 2. Plaintiff’s Motion to Remand is GRANTED based on the Court’s lack of subject matter jurisdiction over the Amended Complaint, which now includes only state law tort claims. This case is HEREBY REMANDED to the Superior Court of Greene County. 3. Based on this Order remanding the case and all remaining state law tort claims in the Amended Complaint to the Superior Court of Greene County based on the Court’s lack of subject matter jurisdiction over the case, Defendant Greene County’s Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff’s Amended Complaint (Doc. 6) and Defendant Robert Allen Kline’s Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff’s Amended Complaint (Doc. 8) are DENIED AS MOOT. 4. The parties shall each bear their own costs (including any attorney’s fees and expenses of litigation) associated with the Notice of Removal and Motion to Remand. 5. The Clerk of Court is directed to take all necessary steps to effectuate the remand of this case and the remaining state law tort claims in the Amended Complaint to the Superior Court of Greene County, including forwarding a certified copy of this Order to that court. Because this Order resolves all pending issues before this Court, the Clerk of Court is hereby directed to close this file. SO ORDERED, this 7th day of November, 2025. S/ Tilman E. Self, III TILMAN E. SELF, III, JUDGE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT Consented to and submitted by: Consented to and submitted by: /s/ Ben D. Fierman /s/ Kenneth P. Robin Ben D. Fierman Kenneth P. Robin Georgia Bar No. 947222 Georgia Bar No. 609798 Martin L. Fierman Stephanie C. Johnson Georgia Bar No. 259800 Georgia Bar No. 907937 FIERMAN LAW FIRM JARRARD & DAVIS, LLP 296 North Main Street 222 Webb Street Madison, Georgia 30650-1313 Cumming, Georgia 30040 (706) 342-1661 – telephone 678-455-7150 – telephone bdfierman@fiermanlawfirm.com krobin@jarrard-davis.com mlfierman@fiermanlawfirm.com sjohnson@jarrard-davis.com COUNSEL FOR PLAINTIFF COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANT GREENE (signed by Kenneth P. Robin with express COUNTY permission) Consented to and submitted by: /s/ Casey C. Crumbley Casey C. Crumbley Georgia Bar No. 741428 JAMES BATES BRANNAN GROOVER, LLP 1 Press Place, Suite 200 Athens, Georgia 30601 (706) 215-8328 – telephone ccrumbley@jamesbatesllp.com COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANT ROBERT ALLEN KLINE IN HIS OFFICIAL AND INDIVIDUAL CAPACITIES (signed by Kenneth P. Robin with express permission)