Colson update: Judge Ozerden remands Wachovia interpleader to state court
In a five page opinion issued yesterday, Judge Ozerden rejected the parties' request to keep the Wachovia-Colson interpleader action in federal court and remanded the case to the Circuit Court of Harrison County. Judge Ozerden ruled that the presence of Sandion-Coldwell Banker destroyed diversity jurisdiction and compelled the remand. The Court rejected the argument that the action was proper in federal court because it could have been filed as a statutory interpleader, since that was not how it was actually filed and the plaintiff is the master of the complaint.
Judge Ozerden's opinion was concise, well written, and based on irrefutable logic. It's easy to see why he was voted most likely to succeed in the stellar Gulfport High School class of 1985, which included standouts such as Todd Ladner and Gulfport attorney Nathan Schrantz.
I will probably be unable to blog on the Wachovia interpleader action going forward, since I do not have easy access to the Harrison County Circuit Court records. I will continue to follow the Lawyer's Title action and post anything that I hear on the Colson story.
