Catamount Properties 2018, LLC v. Lucore et al

Filing 4

ORDER Remanding action to State Court. Signed by Judge M. James Lorenz on 4/28/2021. (cc: Superior Court)(All non-registered users served via U.S. Mail Service)(jpp) (dlg).

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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CATAMOUNT PROPERTIES 2018,
LLC,

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v.
PAUL M. LUCORE,
Defendant.

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ORDER REMANDING ACTION TO
STATE COURT

Plaintiff,

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Case No.: 21cv595-L-MDD

Defendant removed this unlawful detainer action from State court pursuant to 28
U.S.C. §§1331, 1443(1), and 1441. For the reasons stated below, the action is remanded.

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"Federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction. They possess only that power

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authorized by Constitution or statute, which is not to be expanded by judicial decree. It is

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to be presumed that a cause lies outside this limited jurisdiction, and the burden of

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establishing the contrary rests upon the party asserting jurisdiction." Kokkonen v.

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Guardian Life Ins. Co. of Am., 511 U.S. 375, 377 (1994).1 Consistent with the limited

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jurisdiction of federal courts, the removal statute is strictly construed against removal.

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Gaus v. Miles, Inc., 980 F.2d 564, 566 (9th Cir. 1992). The burden of establishing

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Unless otherwise noted, internal quotation marks, ellipses, brackets, citations, and
footnotes are omitted from all quotations.
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21cv595-L-MDD

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removal jurisdiction is on the removing party. See Abrego Abrego v. The Dow Chem.

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Co., 443 F.3d 676, 682-85 (9th Cir. 2006).
“[A]ny civil action brought in a State court of which the district courts of the

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United States have original jurisdiction, may be removed . . ..” 28 U.S.C. § 1441(a).

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Defendant bases removal on federal question jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. §1331, which

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confers "original jurisdiction of all civil actions arising under the Constitution, laws, or

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treaties of the United States," and on 28 U.S.C. § 1443(1), which allows for removal

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when a defendant in State court “is denied or cannot enforce in the courts of such State a

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right under any law providing for the equal civil rights of citizens of the United States, or

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of all persons within the jurisdiction thereof.”

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Defendant claims removal is proper because he is being denied his due process and

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equal protection rights through Plaintiff’s prosecution of the unlawful detainer action.

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Removal is proper when a federal question appears on the face of a well-pleaded

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complaint:

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[T]he presence or absence of federal-question jurisdiction is governed by the
well-pleaded complaint rule, which provides that federal jurisdiction exists
only when a federal question is presented on the face of the plaintiff's
properly pleaded complaint. A defense is not part of a plaintiff's properly
pleaded statement of his or her claim. Thus, a case may not be removed to
federal court on the basis of a federal defense, . . . even if the defense is
anticipated in the plaintiff's complaint, and even if both parties admit that the
defense is the only question truly at issue in the case.

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Rivet v. Regions Bank of Louisiana, 522 U.S. 470, 475 (1998); see also Takeda v. NW

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Nat. Life Ins. Co., 765 F.2d 815, 821-22 (9th Cir. 1985) (removability cannot be created

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by defendant pleading a counterclaim presenting a federal question). Here, removal is

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based on procedural and substantive arguments Defendant can raise in State court. No

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federal question appears on the face of the unlawful detainer complaint. Furthermore,

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Defendant has not shown the State court is not able to protect his constitutional rights to

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equal protection and due process.

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/////
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21cv595-L-MDD

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Accordingly, Defendant has not met his burden as the removing party to establish

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removal jurisdiction. “If at any time before final judgment it appears that the district

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court lacks subject matter jurisdiction, the case shall be remanded.” 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c).

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This action is REMANDED to the Superior Court for the State of California, County of

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San Diego.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated: April 28, 2021

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21cv595-L-MDD