Sean Robbins v. LDM-Properties, LLC et al
Filing
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ORDER by Judge Cormac J. Carney Remanding case to State Court. Case remanded to Superior Court of California, County of Orange, Case number 30-02022-01241263-CL-UD-CJC. SEE DOCUMENT FOR FURTHER INFORMATION. (twdb)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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SEAN ROBBINS,
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Case No. 8:22-cv-00933-CJC-KES
Plaintiff,
ORDER REMANDING CASE TO
v.
STATE COURT
LDM-PROPERTIES, LLC, et al.,
Defendant.
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I.
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BACKGROUND
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On January 18, 2022, Sean Robbins (“Plaintiff”) brought an action for
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unlawful detainer against Beniamino Cattaneo (“Removing Defendant”) and others
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(collectively, “Defendants”) in the Superior Court of California for the County of
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Orange (“OCSC”), case number 30-2022-01241263-CL-UD-CJC (“UD Case”).
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(Dkt. 1 [“Notice of Removal”].) The Complaint alleges that Plaintiff purchased the
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real property located at 32091 Point Place (also known as 32029 Point Place) in
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Laguna Beach, California, “by virtue of a foreclosure sale duly held pursuant to a
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power of sale under a Deed of Trust.” (Id., Ex. 1 [“Complaint”] ¶ 5.) Plaintiff
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alleges that Defendants are in unlawful possession of the subject property. (See
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generally, Complaint.)
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On May 5, 2021, Removing Defendant filed a Notice of Removal removing
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this unlawful detainer to federal court. (Id.) The Notice of Removal alleges that
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Plaintiff, an individual, “is not organized or licensed to do business in California.”
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(Id. at 2.) It further alleges that the sale of the property was a sham and that
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Removing Defendant “will not be able to receive a fair hearing or trial in [OSCS] in
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that she will be denied due process because [OSCS] will ignore any evidence if
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there is a trustee’s deed upon sell, whether valid or invalid, denying defendant an
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opportunity to be heard.” (Id. at 3.) Removing Defendant asserts that the Court has
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jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332 (diversity) and § 1343 (deprivation of
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Constitutional rights). For the reasons that follow, the Court sua sponte
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REMANDS this action to OCSC for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.
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II.
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DISCUSSION
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“The right of removal is entirely a creature of statute and a suit commenced
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in a state court must remain there until cause is shown for its transfer under some
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act of Congress.” Syngenta Crop Prot., Inc. v. Henson, 537 U.S. 28, 32 (2002)
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(citation omitted). Where Congress has acted to create a right of removal, those
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statutes are strictly construed against removal jurisdiction. Id.; Nevada v. Bank of
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Am. Corp., 672 F.3d 661, 667 (9th Cir. 2012); accord Jordan v. Nationstar Mortg.
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LLC, 781 F.3d 1178, 1183 (9th Cir. 2015). Unless otherwise expressly provided by
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Congress, a defendant may remove “any civil action brought in a State court of
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which the district courts of the United States have original jurisdiction.” 28 U.S.C.
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§ 1441(a); accord Dennis v. Hart, 724 F.3d 1249, 1252 (9th Cir. 2013). The
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removing defendant bears the burden of establishing federal jurisdiction. Abrego
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Abrego v. The Dow Chem. Co., 443 F.3d 676, 682 (9th Cir. 2006). “Under the
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plain terms of § 1441(a), in order properly to remove [an] action pursuant to that
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provision, [the removing defendant] must demonstrate that original subject-matter
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jurisdiction lies in the federal courts.” Syngenta Crop Prot., 537 U.S. at 33. Failure
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to do so requires that the case be remanded, as “[s]ubject matter jurisdiction may
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not be waived, and … the district court must remand if it lacks jurisdiction.”
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Kelton Arms Condo. Owners Ass’n v. Homestead Ins. Co., 346 F.3d 1190, 1192
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(9th Cir. 2003).
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“If at any time before final judgment it appears that the district court lacks
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subject matter jurisdiction, the case shall be remanded.” 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c). “It is
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elementary that the subject matter jurisdiction of the district court is not a waivable
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matter and may be raised at any time by one of the parties, by motion or in the
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responsive pleadings, or sua sponte by the trial or reviewing court.” Emrich v.
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Touche Ross & Co., 846 F.2d 1190, 1194 n.2 (9th Cir. 1988); accord Carolina Cas.
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Ins. Co. v. Team Equip., Inc., 741 F.3d 1082, 1086 (9th Cir. 2014).
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A.
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Diversity Jurisdiction (28 U.S.C. § 1332).
Diversity jurisdiction exists when “the matter in controversy exceeds the sum
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of $75,000, exclusive of interest and costs, and is between ... citizens of different
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States.” 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a)(1). “The party asserting diversity jurisdiction bears
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the burden of proof.” Kanter v. Warner-Lambert Co., 265 F.3d 853, 857-58 (9th
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Cir. 2001) Diversity jurisdiction here is lacking.
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First, Removing Defendant has not alleged that all adverse parties are
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diverse. Individuals are considered “at home” for purposes of diversity jurisdiction
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in their place of domicile where they “reside with the intention to remain.” Kanter
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v. Warner–Lambert Co., 265 F.3d 853, 857 (9th Cir. 2001). While the Notice of
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Removal asserts that Plaintiff “is not organized or licensed to do business in
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California,” this statement is nonsensical in reference to an individual and
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insufficient to allege Plaintiff’s place of residence.
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Second, Removing Defendant fails to allege that all Defendants have
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consented to removal. Under the judicially-established unanimity rule, all
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defendants who have appeared must unite in a petition for the removal to a federal
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court when a joint cause of action is alleged against all defendants. See Chicago,
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R.I. & P. Ry. Co. v. Martin, 178 U.S. 245, 245 (1900). Although there is no
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particularly prescribed manner in which codefendants’ joinder must be expressed,
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the Notice of Removal must contain at least “an averment of the other defendants’
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consent.” Proctor v. Vishay Intertechnology Inc., 584 F.3d 1208, 1225 (9th Cir.
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2009). There is no such averment here from any codefendant who has appeared.
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(See UD Case, Register of Actions nos. 78, 79, 80, 81 [answers filed by Lisa
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Duamarell, Stephen Mills, Antonella Pezzola, and Ilaria Cattaneo].)
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Third, the amount in controversy requirement has not been met since the
underlying action is a limited civil action that does not exceed $25,000. 28 U.S.C.
§ 1332(a).
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Fourth, Removing Defendant appears to be a citizen of California, given that
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his address listed on the Notice of Removal is in Laguna Beach, California, i.e., the
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subject property of the unlawful detainer action. Removal on the basis of diversity
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is not permitted by defendants who are “at home” in the state. 28 U.S.C.
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§ 1441(b)(2).
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B.
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Deprivation of Constitutional Rights (28 U.S.C. § 1343).
Removing Defendant also alleges jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1343,
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which grants district courts original jurisdiction over actions “commenced by any
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person” to redress the deprivation of constitutional rights. Jurisdiction under
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§ 1343 is limited actions involving: (1) conspiracy to interfere with civil rights;
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(2) failure to prevent or aid in preventing a conspiracy to interfere with civil rights;
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(3) deprivation of rights under color of state law; and (4) acts of congress for
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protection of civil rights. 28 U.S.C. § 1343(a)(1)-(4). None of these grounds for
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jurisdiction exist here.
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The underlying complaint is for unlawful detainer, not deprivation of
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constitutional rights, and to the extent Removing Defendant asserts jurisdiction is
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proper because she “will be denied due process” in OCSC, that is not a proper basis
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for jurisdiction under § 1343. “[T]he existence of federal jurisdiction depends
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solely on the plaintiff’s claims for relief and not on anticipated defenses to those
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claims.” ARCO Envtl. Remediation, L.L.C. v. Dept. of Health and Envtl. Quality,
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213 F.3d 1108, 1113 (9th Cir. 2000); accord City of Oakland v. BP PLC, 960 F.3d
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570, 577 (9th Cir.), opinion amended and superseded on other grounds on denial of
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reh’g, 969 F.3d 895 (9th Cir. 2020), and cert. denied sub nom. Chevron Corp. v.
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Oakland, CA, No. 20-1089, 2021 WL 2405350, 2021 U.S. LEXIS 3100 (U.S. June
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14, 2021). Indeed, “it is now settled law that a case may not be removed to federal
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court on the basis of a federal defense, including the defense of pre-emption, even if
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the defense is anticipated in the plaintiff’s complaint, and even if both parties
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concede that the federal defense is the only question truly at issue.” Caterpillar Inc.
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v. Williams, 482 U.S. 386, 393, (1987); see Berg v. Leason, 32 F.3d 422, 426 (9th
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Cir. 1994), as amended (Sept. 7, 1994) (“neither an affirmative defense based on
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federal law, nor one based on federal preemption renders an action brought in state
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court removable”) (citations omitted).
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III.
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CONCLUSION
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This Court does not have subject matter jurisdiction over this case. IT IS
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THEREFORE ORDERED that this matter be REMANDED to the Superior Court
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of the State of California for the County of Orange.
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DATED: May 10, 2022
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____________________________________
CORMAC J. CARNEY
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
Presented by:
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KAREN E. SCOTT
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
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