PMT NPL Financing 2015-1 v. Lee et al

Filing 8

ORDER to Remand Case. The Clerk of Court is DIRECTED to immediately transfer this case to King County Superior Court, which shall have immediate and full jurisdiction over this matter. Signed by U.S. District Judge John C Coughenour. (TH) (cc: Defendant via first class mail)

THE HONORABLE JOHN C. COUGHENOUR

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT SEATTLE

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PMT NPL FINANCING 2015-1,

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Plaintiff,

ORDER

v.

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CASE NO. C18-0212-JCC

THOMAS C. LEE, et al.,

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Defendants.

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This matter comes before the Court sua sponte. Defendant removed this unlawful

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detainer action from King County Superior Court on February 9, 2018. (Dkt. No. 4.) Upon

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reviewing the complaint and notice of removal, the Court REMANDS the case for the reasons

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set forth herein.

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This is the third time Defendant has removed this action to federal court. See Case No.

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C17-0535-RSM, Dkt. No. 1 (W.D. Wa. April 6, 2017); Case No. C17-1376-RSL, Dkt. No. 1

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(W.D. Wa. September 13, 2017). In both prior instances, the Court found no basis for the

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exercise of federal jurisdiction and remanded the case. Case No. C17-1376-RSL, Dkt. No. 13 at

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5; Case No. C17-0535-RSM, Dkt. No. 14. Defendant’s latest notice of removal states identical

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bases for federal jurisdiction: his Fourteenth Amendment defense, 28 U.S.C. § 1443, and

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diversity of citizenship. (Dkt. No. 4 at 2–3, 4.) This Court concurs with orders issued by the

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Honorable Ricardo S. Martinez and the Honorable Robert S. Lasnik. Defendant cannot create a
ORDER
C18-0212-JCC
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federal question by asserting a federal defense, he does not qualify for removal under § 1443,

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and he fails to establish the $75,000 threshold for diversity jurisdiction. Case No. C17-0535-

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RSM, Dkt. No. 14 at 2; Case No. C17-1376-RSL, Dkt. No. 13 at 2, 3. This Court notes, as Judge

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Lasnik did, that no new case law supporting Defendant’s bases for removal has arisen since his

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case was last removed and remanded. See Case No. C17-1376-RSL, Dkt. No. 13 at 3.

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For the foregoing reasons this matter is REMANDED to the King County Superior Court.

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The Clerk of Court is DIRECTED to immediately transfer this case to state court, which shall

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have immediate and full jurisdiction over this matter.

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DATED this 20th day of February 2018.

A

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John C. Coughenour
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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ORDER
C18-0212-JCC
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