UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO 

EASTERN DIVISION

MARYBELLE CLINE AND : 

JAMES CLINE, : 

 : CASE NO: 2:17-cv-221 

Plaintiffs, : 

 : 

 v. : 

 : 

ROBERT H. EDWARDS, M.D., et al., : 

 : 

Defendants. : 

NOTICE OF REMOVAL 

1. Under 42 U.S.C. § 233(c), the United States of America is removing to this 

Court a civil action originally filed by Plaintiffs Marybelle Cline and James Cline in 

the Court of Common Pleas, Jefferson County, Ohio. Plaintiffs’ Complaint is attached 

at Exhibit 1. 

2. Under the Public Health Service Act, as amended by the Federally Supported 

Health Centers Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. § 233(g), the Department of Health and 

Human Services, effective on July 14, 2014, deemed Change, Inc. to be an employee of 

the Public Health Service, and its deemed status has continued without interruption 

since that date. 

3. Defendants Robert H. Edwards, M.D., was deemed to be an employee of the 

Public Health Service for purposes of 42 U.S.C. § 233(a) at the time of the alleged 

incident out of which Plaintiffs’ action arose. 

4. Under 42 U.S.C. § 233(c) and 28 C.F.R. § 15.4, the United States Attorney for 

the Southern District of Ohio has certified that Robert H. Edwards, M.D., was acting 

Case: 2:17-cv-00221-ALM-EPD Doc #: 1 Filed: 03/17/17 Page: 1 of 4 PAGEID #: 1
2 

within the scope of his employment as an employee of Change, Inc. at the time of the 

alleged incident out of which Marybelle Cline and James Cline’s action arose. See 

United States Attorney’s Certification of Scope of Employment (attached as Exhibit 

2). 

5. Congress has stated that “[u]pon a certification by the Attorney General that 

the defendant was acting in the scope of his employment at the time of the incident 

out of which the suit arose, any such civil action or proceeding commenced in a State 

court shall be removed without bond at any time before trial by the Attorney General 

to the district court of the United States of the district and division embracing the 

place wherein it is pending and the proceeding deemed a tort action brought against 

the United States . . . .” 42 U.S.C. § 233(c). Plaintiffs’ Complaint has been removed 

properly to this Court under 42 U.S.C. § 233(c). 

6. Under 42 U.S.C. § 233(a), the remedy against the United States provided by 

sections 1346(b) and 2672 of title 28 is exclusive of any other civil action. Under 28 

U.S.C. § 1346(b), commonly referred to as the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), federal 

district courts are vested with exclusive jurisdiction. See 28 U.S.C. § 1346(b). 

7. Prior to this removal, the Court of Common Pleas, Jefferson County, Ohio, entered 

a default judgment against the Defendants. Following removal and substitution, the 

United States will move to set aside the default judgment and to dismiss the Complaint 

because Plaintiffs have failed to exhaust their administrative remedies under the FTCA. 

8. A copy of this Notice of Removal will be filed promptly with the Clerk of the 

Court of Common Pleas, Jefferson County, Ohio, which will effect the removal. See 28 

U.S.C. § 1446(d). 

Case: 2:17-cv-00221-ALM-EPD Doc #: 1 Filed: 03/17/17 Page: 2 of 4 PAGEID #: 2
3 

Respectfully submitted, 

 BENJAMIN C. GLASSMAN 

 United States Attorney 

s/John J. Stark 

 JOHN J. STARK (0076231) 

Assistant United States Attorney 

Attorney for Defendants 

303 Marconi Boulevard, Suite 200

Columbus, Ohio 43215 

Office: (614) 469-5715 

Fax: (614) 469-5240 

E-mail: John.Stark@usdoj.gov 

Case: 2:17-cv-00221-ALM-EPD Doc #: 1 Filed: 03/17/17 Page: 3 of 4 PAGEID #: 3
4 

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 

I certify that on March 17, 2017, the foregoing Notice of Removal was filed by 

use of the Court’s CM/ECF system, and I certify that on the same date a copy of the 

foregoing was sent by first class mail to the following: 

Richard A. Abrams, Esq. 

Green, Haines, Sgambati Co., L.P.A. 

100 Federal Plaza East, Suite 800 

P.O. Box 849 

Youngstown, OH 44501-0849 

Nicholas Amato, Esq. 

991 Main Street 

Wellsville, OH 43968 

s/John J. Stark 

 JOHN J. STARK (0076231) 

Assistant United States Attorney 

Case: 2:17-cv-00221-ALM-EPD Doc #: 1 Filed: 03/17/17 Page: 4 of 4 PAGEID #: 4