[DO NOT PUBLISH]
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT FILED
________________________ U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
February 8, 2007
No. 06-13710 THOMAS K. KAHN
Non-Argument Calendar CLERK
________________________
D. C. Docket No. 05-20374-CV-DLG
OZA B. JENKINS,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
versus
LENNAR CORPORATION,
DUANE MORRIS & HECKSCHER,
TOWER HILL INSURANCE COMPANY,
Defendants-Appellees,
SUNCOAST CONSTRUCTION GROUP,
Defendant.
________________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Florida
_________________________
(February 8, 2007)
Before DUBINA, WILSON and PRYOR, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
Appellant Oza B. Jenkins appeals the district court’s grant of summary
judgment to Lennar Corporation (“Lennar”), the law firm of Duane Morris &
Heckscher (“Duane Morris”), and Tower Hill Insurance Company (“Tower Hill”)
in her pro se action brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. On appeal, Jenkins argues
that we should affirm the entry of default judgment in her favor and that the district
court did not enter a final judgment because it did not rule on her motions for
default judgment. This argument is without merit, however, because the district
court’s order granting summary judgment specifically denied all pending motions
as moot. Jenkins also argues that the district court erred by converting Tower
Hill’s motion to dismiss into a motion for summary judgment because the
dismissal motion was untimely. This argument is also without merit because
Tower Hill’s 12(b)(6) motion was not untimely, see Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(h)(2), and
because the district court properly construed the dismissal motion as a motion for
summary judgment, which can be filed at any time. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(b). On
the merits of the district court’s order granting summary judgment, Jenkins argues
that the district court erroneously applied the doctrine of res judicata.
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Before granting summary judgment in favor of Lennar, Duane Morris, and
Tower Hill, the district court granted a motion by Suncoast Construction Group
(“Suncoast”) to dismiss for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction on the grounds that
Jenkins failed to allege facts showing a basis for federal jurisdiction.1
We are obligated to inquire into subject-matter jurisdiction sua sponte
whenever it may be lacking and must be satisfied not only to our own jurisdiction,
“but also of that of the lower courts in a cause under review.” Bochese v. Town of
Ponce Inlet, 405 F.3d 964, 975 (11th Cir.) (citation omitted), cert. denied, 126 S.
Ct. 377 (2005). We have held that, when the district court lacks subject-matter
jurisdiction, it should dismiss the complaint “sua sponte if necessary, pursuant to
Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(h)(3)” instead of entering summary judgment on the merits. Nat’l
Parks Conservation Ass’n v. Norton, 324 F.3d 1229, 1240 (11th Cir. 2003).
To bring an action in a federal district court, a claim generally must involve
(1) a federal question, 28 U.S.C. § 1331, or (2) diversity of citizenship between the
parties and an amount in controversy exceeding $75,000. See 28 U.S.C. § 1332;
Baltin v. Alaron Trading Corp., 128 F.3d 1466, 1469 (11th Cir. 1997). The record
demonstrates that Jenkins’s action failed to satisfy the jurisdictional requirements
of either § 1331 or § 1332. First, according to Jenkins’s complaint, all of the
1
Suncoast is not a party to this appeal. Jenkins did not serve Suncoast with her appellate
brief, and Suncoast did not enter an appearance.
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parties are citizens of Florida, so diversity of citizenship is not applicable. Second,
Jenkins failed to present the district court with a federal question because, although
she asserts that she is bringing her claim pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, none of the
defendants could be liable under § 1983.
To obtain relief in a § 1983 action, the plaintiff “must show that he or she
was deprived of a federal right by a person acting under color of state law.” Griffin
v. City of Opa-Locka, 261 F.3d 1295, 1303 (11th Cir. 2001). A private party is
viewed as a “state actor” for § 1983 purposes only if one of the following three
conditions is met: (1) the state coerced or significantly encouraged the alleged
unconstitutional action; (2) the private parties performed a public function that was
traditionally the state’s exclusive prerogative; or (3) the state became a joint
participant because it insinuated itself into a position of interdependence with the
private parties. Rayburn ex rel. Rayburn v. Hogue, 241 F.3d 1341, 1347 (11th Cir.
2001). Here, the defendants are all private parties, and Jenkins did not allege any
facts that would establish that any of the parties met any of the conditions to be
considered a state actor.
The district court did not, however, exercise its sua sponte authority to
dismiss the claims against Lennar, Duane Morris, and Tower Hill for lack of
subject-matter jurisdiction, and instead allowed the litigation to continue until it
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granted summary judgment in their favor. We conclude from the record that the
district court should have dismissed the entire complaint for lack of subject-matter
jurisdiction. See Nat’l Parks Conservation Ass’n, 324 F.3d at 1240.
Therefore, we vacate the district court’s order granting summary judgment
and remand this case with instructions to the district court to dismiss the complaint
against Lennar, Duane Morris, and Tower Hill for lack of jurisdiction.
Accordingly, we do not reach the question of whether res judicata applied in this
case.
VACATED AND REMANDED.
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