A class action environmental lawsuit that began in Erie County Supreme Court and got removed to federal court one month later has now been shifted back to state court for lack of federal matter jurisdiction—even though the claims are largely rooted in federal investigations.
Western District Chief Judge William M. Skretny said in DeLuca v. Tonawanda Coke Corp.,10-cv-859s, that concurrent federal criminal and administrative proceedings do not trump the fact that the causes of action, generally negligence, “sound in state, not federal law.”
