Opinion ID: 669097
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Supplemental Jurisdiction Based on the Dismissed COBRA Claim Against Bates

Text: 26 Under this line of inquiry, we analyze the power of the district court to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the state-law claims of both the Georgia Plaintiffs and the Alabama Plaintiffs against Bates based on the dismissed COBRA claim of the Georgia Plaintiffs against Bates. Both the Georgia Plaintiffs' and the Alabama Plaintiffs' state-law claims, as discussed previously, were valid supplemental claims at the time of the filing of the case and for the approximately one-year period prior to the dismissal of the COBRA claim against Bates. These supplemental state-law claims are not required to be dismissed along with the underlying claim. Cohill, 484 U.S. at 350 n. 7, 108 S.Ct. at 619 n. 7 (applying Gibbs standards); Rosado v. Wyman, 397 U.S. 397, 403-05, 90 S.Ct. 1207, 1213-14, 25 L.Ed.2d 442 (1970) (same); United States Anchor Mfg., Inc. v. Rule Indus., Inc., 7 F.3d 986, 1004-05 (11th Cir.1993) (same). Section 1367(a) provides no such mandate. Indeed, we have recently held that such dismissal may be an abuse of discretion where the state statute of limitations expired prior to dismissal of the anchor federal claim. Edwards v. Okaloosa County, 5 F.3d 1431, 1433-35 (11th Cir.1993) (per curiam). This power to retain jurisdiction after the dismissal of the underlying federal claim has not been altered by section 1367. Burns-Toole v. Byrne, 11 F.3d 1270, 1276 (5th Cir.1994); Evans v. City of Marlin, 986 F.2d 104, 109 n. 10 (5th Cir.1993). Section 1367(c) gives a court discretion to dismiss a supplemental claim or party when the district court has dismissed all claims over which it has original jurisdiction. 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1367(c)(3). It is unclear, however, whether the district court dismissed the state-law claims in this case because it believed that it lacked the power to hear them, or pursuant to the exercise of its discretion under section 1367(c). Therefore, we hold that the district court retained the power to hear the state-law claims against Bates after dismissing the underlying COBRA claims and remand to the district court for consideration of, and explication upon, the relevant discretionary elements of section 1367(c). 27