Federal Home Loans Mortgage Corporation v. Le et al

Filing 4

ORDER Remanding Case, signed by Magistrate Judge Barbara A. McAuliffe on 5/11/2012. REMANDING CASE to Stanislaus County Superior Court. Copy of remand order sent to other court. CASE CLOSED.(Fahrney, E)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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FEDERAL HOME LOANS MORTGAGE
CORPORATION,

CASE NO. 1: 12-cv-00765-LJO-BAM

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Plaintiff,

ORDER REMANDING CASE

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vs.
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NGOC LAN C. LE, et al.,
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Defendants.
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/

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I.
A.

INTRODUCTION

The Notice of Removal
Defendants Ngoc Lan C. Le, Quang Le and Min Lu (collectively, “Defendants”), proceeding

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pro se, filed their Notice of Removal from the Stanislaus County Superior Court on May 10, 2012,

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on the basis of federal question jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1331. (Def.’s Notice of

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Removal, 2: 5-14, Doc. 1.) In support of federal question jurisdiction, Defendants argue Plaintiff’s

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unlawful detainer action is really a federal question action arising under the Protecting Tenants at

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Foreclosure Act of 2009 (“PTFA”), 12 U.S.C. § 5201. (Def.’s Notice of Removal, 2-5, Doc. 1.)

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Defendants argue that, post May of 2009, PFTA is the only basis for an action to eject a tenant after

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May of 2009. (Def.’s Notice of Removal, 2-5, Doc. 1.) Defendants further assert that, under the

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PTFA, the manner in which Plaintiff took possession of the Subject Property was unlawful. (Def.’s

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Notice of Removal, 2-5, Doc. 1.)
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B.

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Plaintiff’s Complaint
Plaintiff its Complaint on October 20, 2011, in Stanislaus County Superior Court. (Pl.’s

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Compl., Doc. 1, Attach. 1.) Plaintiff’s Complaint presents an unlawful detainer action pursuant to

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California Code of Civil Procedure § 1161 et seq., to recover possession or property following

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foreclosure proceedings. Id. In particular, Plaintiff alleges that it is the owner of and entitled to

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possession of real property located at 3893 Old Oak Dr., Ceres, CA 95307 (the “Subject Property”).

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Plaintiff alleges to have acquired the Subject Property by Trustee’s Deed Upon Sale following

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foreclosure proceedings on May 31, 2011. (Pl.’s Compl., ¶ 5, Doc. 1, Attach. 1.) Plaintiff further

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alleges that on October 5, 2011, it served Defendants a written notice to quit and deliver possession

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of the property to Plaintiff within three days. (Pl.’s Compl., ¶ 6, Ex. 2, Doc. 1, Attach. 1.) According

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to the Complaint, Defendants did not deliver possession of the property within three days, and

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remain in possession of the property without Plaintiff’s consent. (Pl.’s Compl., ¶¶ 7-8, Doc. 1,

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Attach. 1.)

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II.
A.

ANALYSIS

Legal Standard Governing Removal
“Except as otherwise expressly provided by Act of Congress, any civil action brought in a

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State court of which the district courts of the United States have original jurisdiction, may be

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removed by the defendant or the defendants, to the district court of the United States for the district

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and division embracing the place where such action is pending.” 28 U.S.C. § 1441(a). Original

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jurisdiction may be based on diversity or the existence of a federal question, as set forth in 28 U.S.C.

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§§ 1331 and 1332. Federal subject matter jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1331, based on the

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existence of a federal question, requires a civil action to arise under the Constitution, laws, or treaties

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of the United States. “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). Moreover, “a court

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may raise the question of subject matter jurisdiction, sua sponte, at any time during the pendency of

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the action.” Snell v. Cleveland, Inc., 316 F.3d 822, 826 (9th Cir. 2002) (emphasis added).

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The Ninth Circuit “strictly construe[s] the removal statute against removal jurisdiction.”
Gaus v. Miles, Inc., 980 F.2d 564, 566 (9th Cir.1992) (citations omitted). Thus, “[f]ederal
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jurisdiction must be rejected if there is any doubt as to the right of removal in the first instance.” Id.

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(citation omitted). “The ‘strong presumption’ against removal jurisdiction means that the defendant

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always has the burden of establishing that removal is proper.” Id.

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A case may be removed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1441 only where a federal question appears

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on the face of the properly pleaded complaint. Caterpillar Inc. v. Williams, 482 U.S. 386, 392, 107

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S.Ct. 2425, 96 L.Ed.2d 318 (1987). This rule makes the plaintiff the master of its claim in that the

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plaintiff may avoid federal jurisdiction by exclusive reliance on state law. Id. Further, whether a

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case arises under federal law does not depend upon matters raised in the answer or in counterclaims.

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Holmes Group, Inc. v. Vornado Air Circulation Sys., Inc., 535 U.S. 826, 830-831, 122 S.Ct. 1889,

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153 L.Ed.2d 13 (2002).

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B.

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Whether There is Federal Question Jurisdiction
Plaintiff asserts a single state law claim in its complaint for unlawful detainer under

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California Civil Code section 1161 et seq. A plaintiff bringing an unlawful detainer claim is entitled

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to judgment upon establishing that the property at issue was sold in accordance with California Civil

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Code section 2924 and that the requisite three-day notice to quit to defendant was served as required

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in California Code of Civil Procedure section 116 (a). Litton Loan Servicing, L.P. v. Villegas, 2011

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WL 204322, at * 2 (N.D. Cal., January 21, 2011) (citing Evans v. Superior Court, 67 Cal. App. 3d

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162, 168, 136 Cal. Rptr. 596 (1977)). An unlawful detainer action arises solely under state law. See

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Federal Home Mortgage Corp., v. Garcia, 2012 WL 467497 (E.D. Cal. 2012). Thus, an unlawful

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detainer claim such as the one asserted by Plaintiff here does not raise a federal question. See Litton,

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2011 WL 204322, at * 2 (remanding unlawful detainer action to state court based, in part, on lack of

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federal question jurisdiction); Cooper v. Washington Mut. Bank, 2003 WL 1563999, at*2 (N.D.Cal.

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Mar. 19, 2003) (same); Onewest Bank, FSB v. Fabionar, 2010 WL 5058394, at *3 (N.D.Cal. Dec.6,

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2010) (same); Partners v. Gonzalez, 2010 WL 3447678, at * 2-3 (N.D.Cal. Aug.30, 2010) (same).

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Defendants suggest the PTFA is “not a defense” but is instead “the entire basis for the action

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. . . .” (Emphasis in original.) Defendants are mistaken - the PTFA is not a substitute for an

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unlawful detainer action. See Federal Nat. Mortg. Ass’n. v. Detmer, No. 12-cv-00550-AWI-SKO,

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2012 WL 1435018 at *3 (E.D. Cal., Apr. 25, 2012). “[D]efendant[']s assertions of the ‘Protecting
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Tenants at Foreclosure Act’ are best characterized as defenses or potential counterclaims; neither of

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which are considered in evaluating whether a federal question appears on the face of a plaintiff's

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complaint.” First Northern Bank of Dixon v. Hatanaka, No. 11–cv–02976 MCE-KJN, 2011 WL

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6328713, at * 4 (E.D. Cal., Dec.16, 2011). “[F]ederal district courts have held that a defense based

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on the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act cannot serve as a basis for removal jurisdiction.”

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Aurora Loan Servs., LLC v. Montoya, No. 2:11–cv–2485–MCE–KJN–PS, 2011 WL 5508926, at *4

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(E.D. Cal., Nov. 9, 2011) (citing SD Coastline LP v. Buck, No. 10CV2108 MMA (NLS), 2010 WL

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4809661, at * 1–3; Wescom Credit Union v. Dudley, No. 10-cv-8203-GAF-SSX, 2010 WL 4916578,

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at *2 (C.D. Cal. Nov. 22, 2010) (“... provisions [of the PFTA] offer [defendant] a federal defense to

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an unlawful detainer action where the plaintiff fails to comply with these requirements. A federal

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defense, however, does not support federal-question jurisdiction.”); Aurora Loan Servs., LLC v.

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Martinez, No. C10–01260 HRL, 2010 WL 1266887, at * 1 (N.D. Cal. Mar.29, 2010)).

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III.

CONCLUSION

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Based on the foregoing, the Court does not have subject matter jurisdiction over Plaintiff’s

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claims pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1331, and Plaintiff’s claims must be remanded to state court. This

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case is REMANDED to Stanislaus County Superior Court.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:
10c20k

May 11, 2012

/s/ Barbara A. McAuliffe
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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