Noatex Corp. v. King Construction of Houston, LLC

864 F. Supp. 2d 478
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Mississippi
DecidedApril 12, 2012
DocketCivil Action Nos. 3:11cv00137-SAA, 3:11cv00152-SAA, 1:11cv00251-SAA
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 864 F. Supp. 2d 478 (Noatex Corp. v. King Construction of Houston, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Noatex Corp. v. King Construction of Houston, LLC, 864 F. Supp. 2d 478 (N.D. Miss. 2012).

Opinion

ORDER

S. ALLAN ALEXANDER, United States Magistrate Judge.

The court has before it numerous motions filed1 in these three related cases. The first case, Noatex Corporation v. King [480]*480Construction of Houston, LLC, et al., No. 3:11cvl37, filed in this court on October 18, 2011, is a declaratory judgment action by which Noatex challenges the constitutionality of a Mississippi statute, Mississippi Code Annotated § 85-7-181 (1972), which establishes Mississippi’s “Stop Notice” procedure. The statute allows a subcontractor or materialman [in this case, King Construction] to bind funds owed to a contractor [Noatex] by the owner of a project [Auto Parts Manufacturing Mississippi, Inc. (APMM) ]. Docket 1 in No. 3:11cv137. In a separate action filed in this court on November 30, 2011, Noatex Corporation v. King Construction of Houston, LLC and Carl King, No. 3:11cv152, Noatex sued King Construction and owner Carl King for breach of contract claiming damages in excess of $500,000. Docket 1 in No. 3:11cvl52. The third related case, Auto Parts Manufacturing Mississippi v. King Construction of Houston, LLC and Noatex Corporation, No. 1:11cv251, originated as a state court interpleader action filed on November 15, 2011 in the Chancery Court of Lee County, Mississippi and was removed to this court on December 5, 2011. Docket 1, 2 in No. 11:11cv251. APMM interpled funds owed to Noatex that APMM had withheld because of a Stop Notice issued to it by King Construction, and APMM now seeks dismissal from the interpleader action. Docket 39, 53 in No. I:llcv251.2

Facts

APMM, a Mississippi corporation (Docket 29, p. 1), contracted with Noatex, a California corporation with its principal place of business in California (Docket 1, p. 3), to construct a factory for manufacturing automotive parts in Guntown, Mississippi. Noatex then hired King Construction, a Mississippi limited liability company, to provide labor and materials for part of the construction of the APMM facility. Docket 29, p. 1-2. It appears that King Construction and Noatex worked without issue from February 2011 through mid-June of that year3 but in July, Noatex began questioning King Construction’s invoices.4 Docket 29, p. 2. Although the parties present different accounts of the events that resulted in the stop notice,5 it is undisputed that King [481]*481Construction filed a “Laborer’s and Materialman’s Lien and Stop Notice” in the amount of $260,410.15 in the Lee County Chancery Court in Tupelo, Mississippi and served a copy upon APMM. Docket 1, p. 14-22 in 3:11cv137. On the date of service — September 23, 2011 — APMM owed Noatex $179,707.40.6 Docket 11. King Construction’s Stop Notice filing froze the money owed to Noatex by APMM, and these three cases subsequently arose.

Jurisdiction

This court has federal question jurisdiction over the declaratory judgment action, No. 3:11cv137, under 28 U.S.C. § 1331. Because Noatex has not sought injunctive relief to interdict the operation of the statute on a statewide basis (Docket 1, p. 1), a three-judge court is not required. “There is no requirement that a party seeking to avoid the application of an allegedly unconstitutional state statute request the convening of a three-judge court even where ... a declaration of the unconstitutionality of that statute is sought.” Mississippi Chemical Corporation v. Chemical Construction Corporation, 444 P.Supp. 925 (S.D.Miss.1977).

This court has diversity jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332 over the breach of contract action, No. 3:llcvl52: Noatex is a California corporation with its principal place of business in Torrance, California (Docket 1, p. 3); King Construction is a Mississippi corporation with its principal place of business in Houston, Mississippi (Docket 1, p. Docket 17); Carl King is a citizen of Mississippi (Docket 1, p. Docket 17); and Noatex seeks damages in excess of $500,000. Docket 1, p. 1-2. APMM is not a party to the breach of contract action.

Even though the declaratory judgment and breach of contract actions were already pending in federal court on November 15, 2011, APMM chose to seek relief from its position of being between a rock and a hard place by instituting a state law interpleader action, under Rule 22 of the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure, in the Chancery Court of Lee County, Mississippi. Docket 2. Noatex removed the interpleader action on December 5, 2011 under 28 U.S.C. § 1441.7 Noatex contends that this court has jurisdiction of the removed action under 28 U.S.C. § 1335,8 the federal interpleader statute which requires only “minimal diversity,” because, says Noatex, APMM is only a nominal party, and the real parties in interest — Noatex [482]*482and King Construction — are completely diverse. Docket 1, p. 1-2 in l:llcv251. Shortly after removal, Noatex filed a Rule 12(b)(6) Motion to Dismiss the interpleader action for failure to state a claim.9

The federal courts have original jurisdiction over two different forms of inter-pleader actions: the first falls under 28 U.S.C. § 1335, “statutory interpleader,” and the second under Rule 22 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, known as “Rule interpleader.” The two forms of action differ in the degree of diversity of citizenship required to sustain jurisdiction in federal court. The interpleader statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1335, confers jurisdiction over cases with only “minimal diversity,” that is, diversity between two or more claimants rather than complete diversity between the stakeholder plaintiff and the defendant claimants. Ohio National Life Assurance Corporation v. Langkau, 353 Fed.Appx. 244, 249 (11th Cir.2009); Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Co. v. Davis, 2010 WL 1245024 (W.D.La. March 29, 2010). See also Mid-American Indemnity Co. v. McMahan, 666 F.Supp. 926, 927 & n. 4 (S.D.Miss.1987). Rule 22, on the other hand, does not provide an independent basis for jurisdiction; a rule interpleader action must be supported by some other source of jurisdiction, such as 28 U.S.C. § 1331 or 28 U.S.C. § 1332. Ohio National Life Assurance Corporation v. Langkau, 353 Fed.Appx. at 249; Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Co. v. Davis; Midr-American Indemnity Co. v. McMahan, at 927 & n. 4.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
864 F. Supp. 2d 478, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/noatex-corp-v-king-construction-of-houston-llc-msnd-2012.