United States Secretary for the Department of Housing and Urban Development v. Todd et al
Filing
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ORDER that the Clerk shall REMAND the present action back to the Maricopa County Justice Courts/San Marcos Justice Court. Signed by Judge G Murray Snow on 9/18/12. (Attachments: # 1 Remand Letter). (LSP)
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WO
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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA
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United States Secretary for the Department
of Housing and Urban Development,
No. CV-12-01978-PHX-GMS
ORDER
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Plaintiff,
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v.
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Sandra Todd, et al.
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Defendants.
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The present action was improperly removed and the Court lacks subject-matter
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jurisdiction over it; accordingly, the Court remands this case to Maricopa County Justice
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Courts/San Marcos Justice Court.
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Federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction, having subject-matter jurisdiction
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only over those matters specifically authorized by Congress or the Constitution.
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Kokkonen v. Guardian Life Ins. Co., 511 U.S. 375, 377 (1994). As the proponent of the
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Court's jurisdiction, the removing defendant bears the burden of establishing it. Abrego
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Abrego v. The Dow Chemical Co., 443 F.3d 676, 685 (9th Cir. 2006).
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Although the Notice of Removal states that a claim in the present action arises
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under federal law, a review of the complaint reveals that it is a straightforward forcible
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detainer, otherwise known as an eviction action. And while it appears that Defendant
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Sandra Todd (“Defendant”) may assert a federal defense based on due process, the
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assertion of a federal defense to a state-law claim does not convert the state-law claim
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into one “arising under” federal law for purposes of federal question jurisdiction. See
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Moore-Thomas v. Alaska Airlines, Inc., 553 F.3d 1241, 1244 (9th Cir. 2009) (discussing
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the “well-pleaded complaint rule”). Therefore, the Court has no federal question
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jurisdiction. See 28 U.S.C. § 1331 (conferring on federal courts subject-matter
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jurisdiction over cases arising under federal law).
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To the extent that the Notice of Removal purports to invoke the Court’s diversity
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jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332, the requirements for diversity jurisdiction are also
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not satisfied. In order to invoke the Court’s diversity jurisdiction, a defendant must show
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both that she and plaintiff are not residents of the same state, and that the amount in
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controversy exceeds $75,000. See 28 U.S.C. § 1332 (setting forth requirements for
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diversity jurisdiction). In addition, even when there is diversity between the parties, a
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federal court may not exercise jurisdiction where the moving defendant is a resident of
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the forum state. 28 U.S.C. § 1441(b). Here, the Court need not decide whether there is
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diversity between the parties or whether the amount in controversy requirement is met as
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Defendant reports her address as the property at issue in this action (located in Chandler,
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Arizona); thus, she is clearly a forum defendant who may not remove a state-court action.
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See id.
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In the absence of subject-matter jurisdiction, this Court is empowered to sua
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sponte order summary remand. See 28 U.S.C. § 1446(c)(4) (requiring district courts to
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examine notices of removal and their exhibits and authorizing summary remand in
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appropriate circumstances); 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c) (requiring district courts to remand cases
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if it appears, at any time before final judgment is entered, that the court lacks subject-
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matter jurisdiction).
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IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court shall REMAND the
present action back to the Maricopa County Justice Courts/San Marcos Justice Court.
Dated this 18th day of September, 2012.
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