Irvine Promenade Apts IV LLC v. Jordan Hamilton ( 2024 )

1 JS-6 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 SOUTHERN DIVISION 11 ) 12 ) IRVINE PROMENADE APTS IV LLC, ) 13 ) Case No.: SACV 23-02419-CJC (JDEx) ) 14 ) Plaintiff, ) 15 ) v. ) 16 ) ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO JORDAN HAMILTON; DENISE ) REMAND CASE [Dkt. 7], DENYING 17 ) AS MOOT EX PARTE APPLICATION LANE; and DOES 1–5, ) FOR ORDER SHORTENING TIME 18 ) [Dkt. 8], AND DENYING AS MOOT ) REQUEST TO PROCEED IN FORMA 19 Defendants. ) PAUPERIS [Dkt. 3] ) 20 ) ) 21 ) ) 22 23 I. INTRODUCTION & BACKGROUND 24 25 In September 2023, Plaintiff Irvine Promenade Apts IV LLC filed this unlawful 26 detainer action for nonpayment of rent in Orange County Superior Court against lessee- 27 Defendant Jordan Hamilton. (See Dkt. 7-1 at 1.) A month later, Denise Lane, Orit 1 themselves as defendants in the case. (Id.) Denise Lane, acting pro se, then removed the 2 case to this Court on the basis of federal diversity jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332. 3 (See Dkt. 1 [Notice of Removal, hereinafter “Notice”] ¶ 5.) Lane also filed a request to 4 proceed in forma pauperis. (Dkt. 3.) Plaintiff filed a motion to remand and an ex parte 5 application for swifter consideration of that motion. (See Dkt. 7 [Mot. to Remand, 6 hereinafter “Mot.”]; Dkt. 8 [Ex Parte Appl.].) For the foregoing reasons, Plaintiff’s 7 motion to remand is GRANTED, Plaintiff’s ex parte application for an order shortening 8 time is DENIED AS MOOT, and Lane’s request to proceed in forma pauperis is 9 DENIED AS MOOT.1 10 11 II. LEGAL STANDARD 12 13 A defendant may remove a civil action filed in state court to a federal district court 14 if the federal court may exercise original jurisdiction over the action. 28 U.S.C. 15 § 1441(b). A federal court can assert subject matter jurisdiction over cases that involve 16 questions arising under federal law. 28 U.S.C. § 1331. Additionally, federal district 17 courts have diversity jurisdiction over suits when over $75,000 is in controversy and the 18 citizenship of each plaintiff is different from that of each defendant. See 28 U.S.C. 19 § 1332(a). Principles of federalism and judicial economy require courts to “scrupulously 20 confine their [removal] jurisdiction to the precise limits which [Congress] has defined.” 21 See Shamrock Oil & Gas Corp. v. Sheets, 313 U.S. 100, 109 (1941). Indeed, 22 “[n]othing is to be more jealously guarded by a court than its jurisdiction.” See United 23 States v. Ceja-Prado, 333 F.3d 1046, 1051 (9th Cir. 2003) (internal quotations omitted). 24 The defendant removing the action to federal court bears the burden of establishing that 25 the district court has subject matter jurisdiction over the action, and the removal statute is 26 27 1 Having read and considered the papers, the Court finds this matter appropriate for disposition without a 1 strictly construed against removal jurisdiction. Gaus v. Miles, Inc., 980 F.2d 564, 566 2 (9th Cir. 1992) (“Federal jurisdiction must be rejected if there is any doubt as to the right 3 of removal in the first instance.”). 4 5 III. DISCUSSION 6 7 Lane’s removal was obviously improper here. For one, Lane provides no 8 indication that the other defendants joined in removal. Without the consent of all 9 defendants who have been properly joined and served, the action must be remanded. See 10 Force v. Advanced Structural Techs., Inc., 2020 WL 4539026, at *3 (C.D. Cal. Aug. 6, 11 2020) (“[A]ll properly named and served defendants must join a removal petition for the 12 petition to be valid.”). 13 14 Even if Lane had removed with the other defendants’ consent, removal would still 15 be improper because this Court does not have subject matter jurisdiction over this case. 16 Plaintiff’s Complaint, which states a single claim for unlawful detainer under California 17 law, does not raise a federal question. (Dkt. 7-3 Ex. A [State Court Complaint].) 18 Diversity jurisdiction is also lacking. Lane and Plaintiff are both citizens of California, 19 and the Complaint demands less than $25,000 in damages. (Id.) Therefore, there is 20 neither complete diversity nor satisfaction of the amount-in-controversy requirement, as 21 required for this Court to have diversity jurisdiction over a case. See 28 U.S.C. § 1332; 22 (see Dkts. 7-3, 7-4.) 23 24 It appears Lane may assert that this is a proper civil rights removal, as she contends 25 that she “will not be able to receive a fair hearing or trial in the state Superior Court for 26 Orange County in that she will be denied due process because the Superior Court for 27 Orange County will ignore any evidence if there is a trustee’s deed upon sell, whether 1 U.S.C. § 1443(1) provides that a defendant may remove a civil action commenced in 2 state court if she “is denied or cannot enforce in the courts of such State a right under any 3 law providing for the equal civil rights of citizens of the United States[.]” The Supreme 4 Court has established a two-prong test to determine whether removal is proper under 5 § 1443(1). “First, it must appear that the right allegedly denied the removal petitioner 6 arises under a federal law ‘providing for specific civil rights stated in terms of racial 7 equality,’” rather than a constitutional or statutory provision of general applicability or 8 pursuant to a statute that does not protect specifically against racial discrimination. 9 Johnson v. Mississippi, 421 U.S. 213, 219 (1975) (citation omitted). “Second, it must 10 appear . . . that the removal petitioner is ‘denied or cannot enforce’ the specified federal 11 rights ‘in the courts of (the) State.’” Id. This “normally requires that the ‘denial be 12 manifest in a formal expression of state law,’ such as a state legislative or constitutional 13 provision, ‘rather than a denial first made manifest in the trial of the case.’” Id. (citations 14 omitted). Lane has failed to demonstrate this action falls within the ambit of 15 Section 1443(1). Her contention that she “will not be able to receive a fair hearing or 16 trial” in state court, (Notice ¶ 11), fails to identify a “federal law ‘providing for specific 17 civil rights stated in terms of racial equality,’” rather than a law of general 18 applicability, id., or “a California statute or constitutional provision that purports to 19 command the state court to ignore [her] federal civil rights,” Wong v. Kracksmith, Inc., 20 764 F. App’x 583, 584 (9th Cir. 2019) (mem.). 21 22 Finally, it also appears that Lane’s removal was untimely. A defendant must 23 remove a civil case within thirty days of being served. 28 U.S.C. § 1446(b)(1). Lane 24 states that she was served with the summons and complaint on September 19, 2023, but 25 she did not remove until December 20, 2023. 26 27 1 CONCLUSION 2 3 For the foregoing reasons, Plaintiff's motion to remand is GRANTED, and this 4 |}action is hereby REMANDED to Orange County Superior Court. Plaintiff's ex parte 5 application for an order shortening time is DENIED AS MOOT. Lane’s request to 6 || proceed in forma pauperis is also DENIED AS MOOT. 7 8 DATED: — January 8, 2024 Ko fe 9 a= 2s Zz 10 CORMAC J. CARNEY 11 UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28