UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY

TYLER HODSON and ERIC 

MCGUIRL,

Plaintiff,

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vs.

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Civil Action No. 

AL ROKER ENTERTAINMENT, INC.; 

SPIKE TV; CABLE TV SHOW TITLED 

“DEA”; FILM and SOUND CREW 

MEMBERS, INDIVIDUALLY and THE 

ENTITY, CORPORATION or 

COMPANY BY WHICH THEY WERE 

EMPLOYED or HIRED; THE CITY of 

JERSEY CITY; JERSEY CITY POLICE 

DEPARTMENT; DRUG 

ENFORCEMENT AGENCY; 

DETECTIVE S. SANTANA, Jr.; TFO 

BRIAN GREENE; JOHN and JANE 

DOES, MEMBERS of LAW 

ENFORCEMENT; JOHN and JANE 

DOES, INDIVIDUALLY; and OTHER 

LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY or 

MEMBER WHOSE IDENTITIES ARE 

NOT PRESENTLY KNOWN

Defendants.

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(Document Filed Electronically)

NOTICE OF REMOVAL

TO: CHIEF JUDGE AND JUDGES OF THE

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY

ON NOTICE TO:

Deputy Clerk, Civil Division

Superior Court of New Jersey, Hudson County 

William Brennan Courthouse

583 Newark Avenue

Jersey City, NJ 07306

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Vincent J. D’Elia, Esquire

574 Newark Avenue

Jersey City, New Jersey 07306

Counsel for Plaintiff 

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that defendants Al Roker Entertainment, Inc. (“Al Roker”) and 

SPIKE TV1, hereby remove this civil action, pending in the Law Division of the Superior Court 

of New Jersey, Hudson County, Docket No. HUD-L-640-11, to the United States District Court 

for the District of New Jersey, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1441 and § 1446, and in accordance with 

28 U.S.C. § 1331 and § 1367, on the following grounds:

INTRODUCTION

1. This action was commenced by plaintiffs Tyler Hodson and Eric McGuirl when 

they filed their complaint in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Hudson County – Law Division, 

on January 31, 2011, which is docketed at Docket No. HUD-L-640-11. 

2. On February 17, 2011, after counsel for Al Roker and SPIKE TV agreed to accept 

service, plaintiffs sent the complaint, but no summons, by facsimile to counsel for Al Roker and 

SPIKE TV. See Exhibit A (true and correct copy of complaint and civil case information 

statement received on February 17, 2011).

3. Subsequently, on March 14, 2011, counsel for Al Roker and SPIKE TV received 

a letter from plaintiffs’ counsel, sent via certified mail, enclosing another copy of the complaint 

as well as a summons dated March 9, 2011. See Exhibit B (true and correct copy of 

correspondence, complaint, and summons).

1

SPIKE TV is not a corporate entity capable of being sued. It is a programming service 

of MTV Networks, which is a division of Viacom International Inc. For purposes of this Notice 

of Removal only, defendants assume that SPIKE TV is a proper defendant in this matter.

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4. Copies of all process and pleadings that have been received by Al Roker and 

SPIKE TV are filed herewith. See Exhibits A & B. To date, Al Roker and SPIKE TV have not 

been served with any orders entered by the New Jersey Superior Court.

5. This Notice of Removal is being filed within thirty days after Al Roker and 

SPIKE TV received a copy of plaintiffs’ complaint through service or otherwise. See 28 U.S.C. 

§ 1446(b).

PLAINTIFFS’ CLAIMS

6. In addition to filing suit against Al Roker, SPIKE TV, and unnamed “film and 

sound crew members” and their unnamed employers, plaintiffs’ complaint names as defendants 

the City of Jersey City, the Jersey City Police Department, the United States Drug Enforcement 

Agency (“DEA”), two law enforcement officials, and a host of John Doe defendants 

(collectively, the “law enforcement defendants”).

7. Plaintiffs allege that on January 29, 2009, the law enforcement defendants entered 

the apartment of one of the plaintiffs, searched the premises, and arrested one of the plaintiffs, 

purportedly without first obtaining a search warrant or arrest warrant, or having any other legal 

basis for the search and seizure. See, e.g., Am. Compl. ¶¶ 13-18, 31, 32.

8. Plaintiffs further allege that a film crew for Al Roker and SPIKE TV entered the 

apartment with the law enforcement defendants and filmed the search and arrest. See id. ¶ 19. 

Plaintiff admittedly signed a “document” provided by the film crew’s producer concerning the 

filming in his apartment and stating that the plaintiff’s image and voice would be “blurred” if 

footage of him was broadcast. Id. ¶¶ 20-22.

9. The law enforcement defendants then took the plaintiff that had been arrested to 

“a police facility, housed [him] in a detention cell, charged [him] with crimes, and then [took 

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him] to the county correctional facility,” where he was incarcerated for nine days until he posted 

bail. Id. ¶¶ 31-32.

10. Plaintiffs allege that the law enforcement defendants and the film crew returned to 

the apartment on March 6, 2009, and purportedly entered without permission and without a 

search warrant or arrest warrant. See id. ¶¶ 34-36. According to plaintiffs’ complaint, the law 

enforcement defendants then allegedly handcuffed one plaintiff and searched the premises. See 

id. ¶ 37.

11. Based on these allegations, plaintiffs have asserted claims against all of the 

defendants for violating “United States Code Title 42 Section 1983,” committing “trespass and 

harassment,” and falsely imprisoning them. Id. ¶¶ 59, 51, 63. Plaintiffs also assert separate 

claims against the law enforcement defendants for assault, unlawful detention, and “a tort.” Id.

¶¶ 65, 67, 69.

GROUNDS FOR REMOVAL

12. The present lawsuit is removable from state court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331, 

1367, and 1441.

13. This Court has original jurisdiction over the claims in this case because plaintiffs’ 

claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 raises a federal question. See 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331, 1441(a). 

Because that claim “aris[es] under the Constitution, treaties, or laws of the United States,” it is 

removable. Id. § 1441(b). The entire case therefore may be removed. See id. § 1441(c) 

(“Whenever a separate and independent claim or cause of action within the jurisdiction conferred 

by section 1331 of this title is joined with one or more otherwise non-removable claims or causes 

of action, the entire case may be removed and the district court may determine all issues therein 

. . . .”); see also id. § 1367 (providing for supplemental jurisdiction).

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CONSENT AND NOTICE

14. Al Roker and SPIKE TV are the only defendants that have been served with 

original process in this litigation, and both defendants consent to the removal of this action. 

According to the docket, the remaining named defendants have not been served.

15. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1446(d), all adverse parties are being provided with this 

Notice of Removal, and a copy of this Notice of Removal is being filed with the Deputy Clerk, 

Civil Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey, Hudson County. See Exhibit C (true and 

correct copy of Notice of Removal to be filed in the Superior Court of New Jersey).

WHEREFORE, notice is given that this action is removed from the Law Division of the 

Superior Court of New Jersey, Hudson County, Docket No. HUD-L-640-11, to the United States 

District Court for the District of New Jersey.

Dated: March 18, 2011 LEVINE SULLIVAN KOCH & SCHULZ, L.L.P.

By: /s/ Michael Berry

Michael Berry

2112 Walnut Street, Third Floor

Philadelphia, PA 19103

Phone: (215) 988-9778

Fax: (215) 988-9750

mberry@lskslaw.com

Counsel for Defendants Al Roker Entertainment, Inc.

and SPIKE TV

Of Counsel:

Cameron Stracher

LEVINE SULLIVAN KOCH & SCHULZ, L.L.P.

321 West 44th Street, Suite 510

New York, NY 10036

Phone: (212) 850-6100

Fax: (212) 850-6299

cstracher@lskslaw.com

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I, Michael Berry, hereby certify that on this 18th day of March, 2011, I caused to be 

served via email and Federal Express overnight delivery a true and correct copy of the foregoing 

Notice of Removal upon the following counsel of record:

Vincent J. D’Elia, Esquire

574 Newark Avenue

Jersey City, New Jersey 07306

vjd@deliamccarthy.com

Counsel for Plaintiff 

/s/ Michael Berry

Michael Berry

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