The Bank of New York Mellon v. Palmer et al

Filing 9

ORDER SUA SPONTE REMANDING MATTER to the Fresno County Superior Court 1 , 5 , signed by District Judge Dale A. Drozd on 6/28/17. Certified Copy of Order served on the Fresno County Superior Court. (CASE CLOSED)(Hellings, J)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON,

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No. 1:17-cv-00707-DAD-SKO

Plaintiff,
v.

ORDER SUA SPONTE REMANDING
MATTER TO THE FRESNO COUNTY
SUPERIOR COURT

RANDY PALMER; YOLANDA
PALMER,

(Doc. Nos. 1, 5)
Defendants.

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This is an unlawful detainer action brought under California state law by plaintiff the

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Bank of New York Mellon against defendants Randy Palmer and Yolanda Palmer. On May 22,

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2017, defendants removed this case to federal court from the Fresno County Superior Court.

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(Doc. No. 1.) Defendants assert that the basis for removal is the presence of supplemental

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jurisdiction in connection with the related federal case Palmer v. The Bank of New York Mellon,

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et al., No. 1:17-cv-00043-DAD-SKO. (Id. at 2.)

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A district court has “a duty to establish subject matter jurisdiction over the removed action

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sua sponte, whether the parties raised the issue or not.” United Investors Life Ins. Co. v. Waddell

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& Reed, Inc., 360 F.3d 960, 967 (9th Cir. 2004). The removal statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1441, is

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strictly construed against removal jurisdiction. Geographic Expeditions, Inc. v. Estate of Lhotka,

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559 F.3d 1102, 1107 (9th Cir. 2010); Provincial Gov’t of Marinduque v. Placer Dome, Inc., 582
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F.3d 1083, 1087 (9th Cir. 2009). It is presumed that a case lies outside the limited jurisdiction of

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the federal courts, and the burden of establishing the contrary rests upon the party asserting

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jurisdiction. Geographic Expeditions, 559 F.3d at 1106–07; Hunter v. Philip Morris USA, 582

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F.3d 1039, 1042 (9th Cir. 2009). In addition, “the existence of federal jurisdiction depends solely

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on the plaintiff’s claims for relief and not on anticipated defenses to those claims.” ARCO Envtl.

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Remediation, LLC v. Dep’t of Health & Envtl. Quality, 213 F.3d 1108, 1113 (9th Cir. 2000).

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“The strong presumption against removal jurisdiction” means that “the court resolves all

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ambiguity in favor of remand to state court.” Hunter, 582 F.3d at 1042; Gaus v. Miles, Inc., 980

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F.2d 564, 566 (9th Cir. 1992). That is, federal jurisdiction over a removed case “must be rejected

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if there is any doubt as to the right of removal in the first instance.” Geographic Expeditions, 559

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F.3d at 1107; Duncan v. Stuetzle, 76 F.3d 1480, 1485 (9th Cir. 1996); Gaus, 980 F.2d at 566. “If

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at any time prior to judgment it appears that the district court lacks subject matter jurisdiction, the

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case shall be remanded.” 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c); Gibson v. Chrysler Corp., 261 F.3d 927, 932 (9th

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Cir. 2001). Remand under 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c) “is mandatory, not discretionary.” Bruns v.

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NCUA, 122 F.3d 1251, 1257 (9th Cir. 1997); see also California ex. rel. Lockyer v. Dynegy, Inc.,

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375 F.3d 831, 838 (9th Cir. 2004). Where it appears, as it does here, that the district court lacks

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subject matter jurisdiction over a removed case, “the case shall be remanded.” 28 U.S.C.

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§ 1447(c).

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“The presence or absence of federal question jurisdiction is governed by the ‘well-pleaded

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complaint rule,’ which provides that federal jurisdiction exists only when a federal question is

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presented on the face of the plaintiff’s properly pleaded complaint.” California v. United States,

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215 F.3d 1005, 1014 (9th Cir. 2000); see also Dynegy, 375 F.3d at 838; Duncan, 76 F.3d at 1485.

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Under the well-pleaded complaint rule, courts look to what “necessarily appears in the plaintiff’s

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statement of his own claim in the bill or declaration, unaided by anything in anticipation of

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avoidance of defenses which it is thought the defendant may interpose.” California, 215 F.3d at

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1014. Accordingly, “a case may not be removed on the basis of a federal defense . . . even if the

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defense is anticipated in the plaintiff’s complaint and both parties concede that the federal defense

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is the only question truly at issue.” Caterpillar, Inc. v. Williams, 482 U.S. 386, 392 (1987);
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Wayne v. DHL Worldwide Express, 294 F.3d 1179, 1183 (9th Cir. 2002); see also Vaden v.

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Discover Bank, 556 U.S. 49, 70 (2009) (“It does not suffice to show that a federal question lurks

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somewhere inside the parties’ controversy, or that a defense or counterclaim, or that a defense or

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counterclaim would arise under federal law.”).

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Here, defendants have not shown that removal of this action to this federal court is

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appropriate. Plaintiff’s complaint in this case is a straight-forward unlawful detainer action that is

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based entirely on state law. As stated above, defendants rely solely on supplemental jurisdiction

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in connection with the currently pending, related federal case Palmer v. The Bank of New York

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Mellon, et al., No. 1:17-cv-00043-DAD-SKO. Under § 1367(a), “in any civil action of which the

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district courts have original jurisdiction, the district courts shall have supplemental jurisdiction

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over all other claims that are so related to claims in the action within such original jurisdiction

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that they form part of the same case or controversy under Article III of the United States

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Constitution.” 28 U.S.C. § 1367(a). Section 1367(a), however, “does not authorize supplemental

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jurisdiction over free-standing state law claims that are related to a separate action over which the

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court has jurisdiction.” Wescom Credit Union v. Dudley, No. 2:10-cv-08203-GAF-SS, 2010 WL

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4916578, at *3 (C.D. Cal. Nov. 22, 2010); see also Fabricius v. Freeman, 466 F.2d 689, 693 (7th

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Cir. 1972) (“That a related case was pending in federal court was not in itself sufficient grounds

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for removal under 28 U.S.C. § 1441.”); Putnam Inv., Inc. v. R.E.F.S. Inc., No. 1:12-cv-00862-

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AWI-DLB, 2012 WL 3288241, at *2 (E.D. Cal. Aug. 10, 2012) (“The Court cannot exercise

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supplemental jurisdiction over claims made in a separate complaint.”); Fed. Nat. Mortg. Ass’n. v.

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Bridgeman, No. 2:10-cv-02619-JAM, 2010 WL 5330499, at *5 (E.D. Cal. Dec. 20, 2010)

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(“[T]hat a related case was pending in federal court at the time of removal is not a proper basis,

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by itself, for removal and does not establish subject matter jurisdiction.”). Thus, even where the

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court has jurisdiction over a related action, that does not provide a basis for supplemental

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jurisdiction over this action presenting a purely state law claim.

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Because there is no federal question appearing in plaintiff’s complaint in this case,

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defendant has failed to properly invoke this court’s jurisdiction. Remand to the Fresno County

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Superior Court is therefore appropriate and mandatory. 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c); Geographic
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Expeditions, 559 F.3d at 1107; Bruns, 122 F.3d at 1257.

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Accordingly,

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1. This action is remanded forthwith to the Fresno County Superior Court, pursuant to 28

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U.S.C. § 1447(c), for lack of subject matter jurisdiction;
2. Defendant’s motion to remand (Doc. No. 5) is dismissed as having been rendered

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moot by this order; and
3. The Clerk of the Court is directed to close this case.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:

June 28, 2017
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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