Thien Tran v. Anthony Nguyen

Filing 11

MINUTES (IN CHAMBERS) ORDER by Judge Andrew J. Guilford granting 7 MOTION to Remand Case to State Court Case,and denys the request for attorney fees. Case Remanded to Superior Court of California, County of Orange; Case number 30-02014-00722873. (see document for details). MD JS-6. Case Terminated. (dro)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
CIVIL MINUTES - GENERAL
Case No.

SACV 17-00015 AG (JCGx)

Title

THIEN TRAN v. ANTHONY NGUYEN

Present: The Honorable

January 18, 2017

ANDREW J. GUILFORD

Lisa Bredahl
Deputy Clerk
Attorneys Present for Plaintiffs:
Proceedings:

Date

Not Present
Court Reporter / Recorder

Tape No.

Attorneys Present for Defendants:

[IN CHAMBERS] ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO
REMAND

This matter is appropriate for resolution without oral argument. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 78(b).
The Court VACATES the February 13, 2017 hearing.
Anthony Nguyen filed a notice of removal in this Court on January 5, 2017. The notice,
though far from clear, purports to remove three actions from the Orange County Superior
Court:
•
•
•

A petition for a “civil harassment restraining order,” filed by Thien
Tran against Nguyen in May 2014. (Notice of Removal, Dkt. No. 1,
PageID 17–23.)
A portion of a complaint for various state-law torts, filed by Nguyen
against Tran in June 2014. (Id. at 26–27.)
A petition for a “civil harassment restraining order” filed by Nguyen
against Tran in May 2014. (Id. at 29–34.)

Tran moves to remand. (Mot. to Remand, Dkt. No. 7, PageID 123–24.)
To remove a civil action from state court to federal court, a defendant must file a notice of
removal in the federal forum “containing a short and plain statement of the grounds for
CIVIL MINUTES - GENERAL
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
CIVIL MINUTES - GENERAL
Case No.

SACV 17-00015 AG (JCGx)

Date

Title

January 18, 2017

THIEN TRAN v. ANTHONY NGUYEN

removal, together with a copy of all process, pleadings, and orders served upon such
defendant . . . in such action.” 28 U.S.C. § 1446(a). And the notice of removal must be filed
“within 30 days after the receipt by the defendant, through service or otherwise, of a copy
of the initial pleading setting forth the claim for relief upon which such action or proceeding
is based.” Id. § 1446(b).
Nguyen hasn’t followed these basic procedures.
The Court has identified several procedural irregularities here. For example, Nguyen is the
plaintiff in at least two of the state-court actions; Nguyen’s notice of removal, for each statecourt action, is untimely; Nguyen hasn’t identified any federal claims on the face of the
state-court complaint, so there’s no potential for federal question jurisdiction; Nguyen and
Tran are both California citizens, so there’s no potential for diversity jurisdiction; and
Nguyen hasn’t provided the Court with copies of all required process, pleadings, and orders.
For these reasons, among others, the Court GRANTS the motion to remand and DENYS
the request for attorney fees. (Dkt. No. 7.)
:
Initials of
Preparer

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