And that means AMTAX hasn’t satisfied the first prong of the Grable test: whether a state law claim necessarily raises a question of law, according to the opinion.
Judge Buchwald said her analysis under Grable could end there, but she opted to also examine whether the federal law issue is disputed by the parties. That’s the one factor that AMTAX does satisfy, she added.
“The court does not doubt that the parties dispute the meaning of Section 42(i)(7) and whether CohnReznick acted in accordance with the statute,” the judge said. “Regardless, the other three Grable requirements have not been satisfied.”
For those reasons, the case must be dismissed, Judge Buchwald said. However, she noted that the case is dismissed without prejudice because finding a case lacks federal subject matter jurisdiction means the court also lacks the power to dismiss a case with prejudice.
According to AMTAX’s suit, it relied on CohnReznick to calculate the minimum price in anticipation of selling the units. The firm had worked as AMTAX’s tax preparers and auditors since the housing project’s beginnings in 2003, AMTAX said.
