No. 10-1195 IN THE Supreme Court of the United States MARCUS D. MIMS, Petitioner, v. ARROW FINANCIAL SERVICES, LLC, Respondent. On Writ of Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit BRIEF FOR PETITIONER DONALD A. YARBROUGH SCOTT L. NELSON 2000 E. Oakland Park Blvd. Counsel of Record Suite 105 GREGORY A. BECK P.O. Box 11842 ALLISON M. ZIEVE Fort Lauderdale, FL 33339 PUBLIC CITIZEN (954) 537-2000 LITIGATION GROUP 1600 20th Street NW Washington, DC 20009 (202) 588-1000 [email protected] Attorneys for Petitioner September 2011 i QUESTION PRESENTED Did Congress divest the federal district courts of their federal-question jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1331 over private actions brought under the Tele- phone Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. § 227? ii TABLE OF CONTENTS QUESTION PRESENTED ........................................... i TABLE OF AUTHORITIES ........................................ v INTRODUCTION ........................................................ 1 OPINIONS BELOW ..................................................... 2 JURISDICTION ........................................................... 2 STATUTES INVOLVED ............................................. 2 STATEMENT OF THE CASE .................................... 4 A. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act. ....... 4 B. The Proceedings in This Case. .......................... 9 SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT .................................... 10 ARGUMENT .............................................................. 12 I. An Action Under the TCPA Falls Within Section 1331’s Grant of Federal Jurisdiction Over Cases Arising Under Federal Law. ............ 12 A. Congress Has Conferred Broad Federal- Question Jurisdiction on the Federal District Courts. ................................................ 12 B. Section 1331 Provides Jurisdiction Over Cases Asserting Rights of Action Created and Governed by Federal Law. ....................... 17 C. A Claim Under the TCPA Arises Under Federal Law Within the Meaning of Section 1331. .................................................... 23 iii II. The TCPA Does Not Displace Federal Jurisdiction Under Section 1331. ....................... 24 A. Jurisdiction Under Section 1331 Is Available Unless Congress Has Acted Affirmatively to Remove It. ............................ 24 B. Congress Has Not Acted to Divest the District Courts of Their Jurisdiction Under Section 1331 Over TCPA Claims. ....... 27 1. The TCPA’s Permissive Authorization of State-Court Actions Does Not Divest Federal Courts of Jurisdiction. .................. 27 2. Giving Effect to Section 1331’s Grant of Jurisdiction Over Claims Arising Under the TCPA Does Not Make Section 227(b)(3)’s Language Superfluous. ............................................... 36 3. Legislative History Does Not Support Reading the TCPA to Displace Federal- Question Jurisdiction Under Section 1331. ........................................................... 39 4. Reading an Ouster of Federal-Question Jurisdiction Into the TCPA Would Impede Important Federal Policies. .......... 42 a. The TCPA Serves Significant Federal Interests. ................................. 42 b. Precluding Federal-Question Jurisdiction Would Impair the Federal Interests Served by the TCPA. .................................................... 44 CONCLUSION ........................................................... 48 iv APPENDIX TABLE OF CONTENTS ....................................... ia 47 U.S.C. § 227 (Telephone Consumer Protection Act) ................................................ 1a Telephone Consumer Protection Act, Pub. L. No. 102-243, § 2, 105 Stat. 2394-95 (1991), 47 U.S.C. § 227 note (Congressional findings) ............................... 23a v TABLE OF AUTHORITIES Page(s) Cases: American Well Works Co. v. Layne & Bowler Co., 241 U.S. 257 (1916) ......................................... 17, 23 Ames v. Kansas 111 U.S. 449 (1884) ......................................... 32, 33 Bell v. Hood, 327 U.S. 678 (1946) ............................................... 19 Bowen v. Massachusetts, 487 U.S. 879 (1988) ......................................... 31, 32 Breuer v. Jim’s Concrete of Brevard, Inc. 538 U.S. 691 (2003) ............................................... 33 Brill v. Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., 427 F.3d 446 (7th Cir. 2005) ............8, 34, 37, 38, 47 Bruesewitz v. Wyeth LLC, 131 S. Ct. 1068 (2011) ........................................... 37 The Chair King, Inc. v. GTE Mobilnet of Houston, Inc., 184 S.W.3d 707 (Tex. 2006) .......................... 46 Chair King, Inc. v. Houston Cellular Corp., 131 F.3d 507 (5th Cir. 1997) ................................... 8 Charles Dowd Box Co. v. Courtney, 368 U.S. 502 (1962) ......................................... 28, 37 Charvat v. Echostar Satellite LLC, 630 F.3d 459 (6th Cir. 2010) ................................... 8 City of Chicago v. Int’l Coll. of Surgeons, 522 U.S. 156 (1997) ............................................... 21 Christianson v. Colt Indus. Operating Corp., 486 U.S. 800 (1988) ............................................... 17 vi Claflin v. Houseman, 93 U.S. 130 (1876) ..................................... 28, 30, 37 Cohens v. Virginia, 19 U.S. 264 (1821) ................................................. 26 Consumer Prod. Safety Comm’n v. GTE Sylvania, Inc., 447 U.S. 102 (1980) ...................................... 41 ErieNet, Inc. v. Velocity Net, Inc., 156 F.3d 513 (3d Cir. 1998) ........................ 8, 39, 42 Exxon Mobil Corp. v. Allapattah Servs., Inc., 545 U.S. 546 (2005) ......................................... 39, 40 The Fair v. Kohler Die & Specialty Co., 228 U.S. 22 (1913) ................................................. 19 Fla. Power & Light Co. v. Lorion, 470 U.S. 729 (1985) ............................................... 25 Foti v. INS, 375 U.S. 217 (1963) ............................................... 25 Foxhall Realty Law Offices, Inc. v. Telecomms. Premium Servs., Ltd., 156 F.3d 432 (2d Cir. 1998) .................................... 8 Franchise Tax Bd. v. Constr. Laborers Vacation Trust, 463 U.S. 1 (1983).................................. 17, 18 Galveston, Harrisburg & San Antonio Ry. Co. v. Wallace, 223 U.S. 481 (1912) .......................... 26, 30 Gottlieb v. Carnival Corp., 436 F.3d 335 (2d Cir. 2006) .............................. 8, 34 Grable & Sons Metal Prods., Inc. v. Darue Eng’g & Mfg., 545 U.S. 308 (2005) .......................... passim Gulf Offshore Co. v. Mobil Oil Corp., 453 U.S. 473 (1981) ............................. 28, 29, 36, 37 vii Gully v. First Nat’l Bank, 299 U.S. 109 (1936) ............................................... 21 Harrison v. PPG Indus., Inc., 446 U.S. 578 (1980) ............................................... 25 Haywood v. Drown, 129 S. Ct. 2108 (2009) ........................................... 38 Illinois v. City of Milwaukee, 406 U.S. 91 (1972) ........................................... 18, 32 Int’l Sci. & Tech. Inst. v. Inacom Commc’ns, Inc., 106 F.3d 1146 (4th Cir. 1997) ........................... 8, 39 Italia Foods, Inc. v. Sun Tours, Inc., __ N.E.2d __, 2011 WL 2163718 (Ill. June 3, 2011) .................................................. 46 Jackson Transit Auth. v. Local Div. 1285, Amalgamated Transit Union, 457 U.S. 15 (1982) ................................................. 22 Key Tronic Corp. v. United States, 511 U.S. 809 (1994) ............................................... 23 K Mart Corp. v. Cartier, Inc., 485 U.S. 176 (1988) ......................................... 24, 25 Landsman & Funk PC v. Skinder-Strauss Assocs., 640 F.3d 72 (3d Cir. 2011), reh’g en banc granted, __ F.3d __, 2011 WL 1879624 (3d Cir. May 17, 2011) ............................................ 8 Lauritzen v. Larsen, 345 U.S. 571 (1953) ............................................... 18 Lynch v. Household Fin. Corp., 405 U.S. 538 (1972) ............................................... 26 Merrell Dow Pharm. Inc. v. Thompson, 478 U.S. 804 (1986) ............................................... 18 viii MLC Mortgage Corp. v. Sun America Mortgage Co., 212 P.3d 1199 (Okla. 2009) .................................. 38 Mont.-Dak. Utils. Co. v. Nw. Pub. Serv. Co., 341 U.S. 246 (1951) ............................................... 18 Mt. Healthy City Sch. Dist. Bd. of Educ. v. Doyle, 429 U.S. 274 (1977) ............................................... 21 Murphey v. Lanier, 204 F.3d 911 (9th Cir. 2000) ................................... 8 New York v. FERC, 535 U.S. 1 (2002) ................................................... 43 Nicholson v. Hooters of Augusta, Inc., 136 F.3d 1287 (11th Cir.), modified, 140 F.3d 898 (11th Cir. 1998) ....................... 8, 9, 10 Oneida Indian Nation v. Oneida County, N.Y., 414 U.S. 661 (1974) ............................................... 18 Osborn v. Bank of the United States, 22 U.S. 738 (1824) ................................................. 12 Peyton v. Ry. Express Agency, 316 U.S. 350 (1942) ............................................... 19 Powell v. McCormack, 395 U.S. 486 (1969) ................................... 12, 17, 18 Public Utils. Comm’n v. Attleboro Steam & Elec. Co., 273 U.S. 83 (1927) ................................ 43 Reynolds v. Diamond Foods & Poultry, Inc., 79 S.W.3d 907 (Mo. 2002) ..................................... 46 Romero v. Int’l Terminal Operating Co., 358 U.S. 354 (1959) ................................... 17, 18, 19 Rosecrans v. United States, 165 U.S. 257 (1897) ............................................... 26 ix Shady Grove Orthopedic Assocs. v. Allstate Ins. Co., 130 S. Ct. 1431 (2010) ............................ 47 Shoshone Mining Co. v. Rutter, 177 U.S. 505 (1900) ............................. 19, 20, 21, 22 Smith v. Kansas City Title & Trust Co., 255 U.S. 180 (1921) ............................................... 21 Steel Co. v. Citizens for a Better Env’t, 523 U.S. 83 (1998) ................................................. 18 Tafflin v. Levitt, 493 U.S. 455 (1990) ........................................ passim T.B. Harms Co. v. Eliscu, 339 F.2d 823 (2d Cir. 1964) .................................. 18 Testa v. Katt, 330 U.S. 386 (1947) ................................... 11, 36, 38 United States v. Bank of N.Y. & Trust Co., 296 U.S. 463 (1936) ......................................... 10, 27 United States v. Mitchell, 463 U.S. 206 (1983) ............................................... 22 United States v. White Mt. Apache Tribe, 537 U.S. 465 (2003) ............................................... 22 Vaden v. Discover Bank, 129 S. Ct. 1262 (2009) ..................................... 35, 36 Van Drasek v. Lehman, 762 F.2d 1065 (D.C. Cir. 1985) ............................. 32 Verizon Md., Inc. v. Pub. Serv. Comm’n, 535 U.S. 635 (2002) ........................................ passim Verlinden B.V. v. Central Bank of Nigeria, 461 U.S. 480 (1983) ......................................... 12, 17