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[DO NOT PUBLISH]
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
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No. 21-10440
Non-Argument Calendar
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D.C. Docket No. 3:20-cv-00028-CAR
BRETT-ANDREW NELSON,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
versus
DONALD CORWIN JACKSON,
LORI BETH TALBOT,
ASHLEY MORGAN BURGEMEISTER,
KERI ANN YODER,
Defendants-Appellees.
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Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Middle District of Georgia
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(August 2, 2021)
Before ROSENBAUM, NEWSOM, and ANDERSON, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
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Brett-Andrew Nelson filed a petition in federal district court to confirm an
arbitration award issued by the SITCOMM Arbitration Association, which
purported to award Nelson $500,000 from each of the four defendants—the lawyer
who represented the mother of his child in a child-custody case in Colorado and
several Colorado state-court judges who presided over those proceedings—for
breach of an unexplained “contractual agreement.” He later amended the petition,
claiming that the amount owed was now $5,000,000 per defendant because of their
retaliatory actions and refusal to honor the arbitration award. Nelson asserted that
the district court had jurisdiction to confirm the award under 9 U.S.C. § 9.
The district court granted the defendants’ motions to dismiss with prejudice,
for failure to state a claim because neither Nelson’s filings nor the arbitration reward
indicated that a valid contract ever existed between the parties. Nelson now appeals.
We are required to raise jurisdictional issues sua sponte, and we review such
issues de novo. Wood v. Raffensperger,
981 F.3d 1307, 1313 (11th Cir. 2020). The
party seeking the federal forum must establish federal subject-matter jurisdiction.
Lowery v. Ala. Power Co.,
483 F.3d 1184, 1207 (11th Cir. 2007).
The Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) permits “parties to arbitration
agreements to bring a separate proceeding in a district court to enter judgment on an
arbitration award once it is made.” Green Tree Fin. Corp.-Ala. v. Randolph,
531
U.S. 79, 86 (2000); see 9 U.S.C. § 9. But the Act does not create federal subject-
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matter jurisdiction on its own; “[i]nstead, the FAA requires an independent
jurisdictional foundation.” PTA-FLA, Inc. v. ZTE USA, Inc.,
844 F.3d 1299, 1305
(11th Cir. 2016); see Hall Street Associates, L.L.C. v. Mattel, Inc.,
552 U.S. 576,
581–82 (2008). Thus, “[t]he district court must have at least one of three types of
subject matter jurisdiction: (1) jurisdiction under a specific statutory grant; (2)
federal question jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1331; or (3) diversity
jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a).” PTA-FLA, Inc., 844 F.3d at 1305
(quotation marks omitted).
Here, the district court lacked subject-matter jurisdiction over Nelson’s
petition to confirm the arbitration award. In his petition, Nelson asserted jurisdiction
based solely on 9 U.S.C. § 9, but the FAA does not create subject-matter jurisdiction
on its own. See id. And Nelson has not identified any other independent
jurisdictional basis. The underlying claims were for breach of contract, not anything
federal in nature, and Nelson’s amended petition reflects that the parties were all
citizens of or domiciled in Colorado, meaning diversity is lacking.
Because Nelson failed to establish federal subject-matter jurisdiction, the
petition should have been dismissed without prejudice, rather than with prejudice
for failure to state a claim. See Stalley ex rel. U.S. v. Orlando Reg’l Healthcare Sys.,
Inc.,
524 F.3d 1229, 1232 (11th Cir. 2008) (“A dismissal for lack of subject matter
jurisdiction is not a judgment on the merits and is entered without prejudice.”). On
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this basis alone, we vacate and remand for the limited purpose of allowing the district
court to dismiss the case without prejudice.
VACATED AND REMANDED.
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