Iam v. Washington Mutual Bank, F.A. et al
Filing
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ORDER by Judge Hamilton denying 19 Motion for TRO; denying 19 Motion for Order to Show Cause; denying 19 Motion for Preliminary Injunction (pjhlc2, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 1/2/2013)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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JUDITH H. IAM,
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Plaintiff,
No. C 12-4106 PJH
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v.
ORDER DENYING APPLICATION FOR
TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER
AND ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE
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WASHINGTON MUTUAL BANK, et al.
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Defendants.
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On December 27, 2012, plaintiff Judith Iam (“plaintiff”) filed an “ex parte” application
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for a temporary restraining order (“TRO”) and an “order to show cause re: preliminary
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injunction.” The application seeks to “prevent execution of a judgment for possession . . .
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entered in an unlawful detainer case” on October 11, 2012.
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As an initial matter, while plaintiff claims to be proceeding ex parte, plaintiff has
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noted that the TRO application “is being served upon the defendants by fax and first-class
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mail,” and has attached certificates of service. However, the certificates of service indicate
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that defendants are being served via “U.S. Mail - overnight delivery,” and do not indicate
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that any defendants were served by fax. Thus, there is some confusion as to whether
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plaintiff intends to proceed under Rule 65(a), which requires notice, or Rule 65(b), which
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does not. However, for the reasons described below, the court’s decision would be the
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same under either scenario.
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Specifically, this court is prevented from intervening in a state court unlawful
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detainer action by the Anti-Injunction Act. The Act “is an absolute prohibition against
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enjoining state court proceedings, unless the injunction falls within one of [the] three
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specifically defined exceptions.” Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Company v. Brotherhood of
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Locomotive Engineers, 398 U.S. 281, 286 (1970). The three exceptions are narrowly
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construed, and “doubts as to the propriety of a federal injunction against a state court
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proceeding should be resolved in favor of permitting the state action to proceed.” Lou v.
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Belzberg, 834 F.2d 730, 739 (9th Cir. 1987). A number of district courts have found that a
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stay of unlawful detainer proceedings does not fall into one of the exceptions listed in the
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Act. See, e.g., Diaz v. National City Bank, 2012 WL 2129916 at *2 (S.D. Cal. June 12,
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2012); Carrasco v. HSBC Bank USA, N.A., 2012 WL 646251 at *3-4 (N.D. Cal. Feb. 28,
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2012); Sato v. Wachovia Mortgage, FSB, 2012 WL 368423 at *2 (N.D. Cal. Feb. 3, 2012).
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Plaintiff notes that she believes the state court unlawful detainer proceedings to be
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“irregular and the judgment void,” and that a “motion to vacate said void judgment is in
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preparation for immediate filing in the county court.” Dkt. 19 at 3. Plaintiff may pursue
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those arguments in state court, as she apparently intends to do, but the Anti-Injunction Act
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prevents this court’s intervention. Accordingly, plaintiff’s application for a temporary
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restraining order and an order to show cause is hereby DENIED.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: January 2, 2013
______________________________
PHYLLIS J. HAMILTON
United States District Judge
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