7 West 21 LI LLC v. Mosseri

Background

7 West 21 LI LLC started a landlord-tenant proceeding in New York City Civil Court’s Housing Part in February 2019. Mosseri removed that proceeding to federal court several times. Earlier federal courts had remanded it because they lacked subject-matter jurisdiction—the legal power to hear the matter.

The first removal was remanded because the landlord’s state-law claims did not raise a federal question. The court previously rejected Mosseri’s argument that the property’s participation in the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program created federal jurisdiction. The court also noted that a federal defense generally cannot create removal jurisdiction.

Mosseri later removed related state proceedings, and those matters were also dismissed or remanded. After the Housing Court entered judgment for 7 West 21 LI LLC following an inquest, Mosseri again removed the original proceeding. A federal court remanded that attempt in January 2025, and the Second Circuit denied Mosseri’s request for an emergency stay. Mosseri filed the removal involved in this case one week later.

Motion to Remand

The court agreed that removal under 28 U.S.C. § 1441 was improper. The petition in the Housing Court proceeding did not present a federal question, and the landlord’s right to relief did not depend on interpreting federal law.

The court also rejected Mosseri’s reliance on 28 U.S.C. § 1443. That statute permits removal in limited circumstances involving specified federal civil-rights protections, and the court explained that it generally applies to claims involving racial equality. The court found nothing in the removal notice suggesting that the landlord was asserting a race-discrimination claim. It ordered the proceeding remanded to New York Housing Court.

Filing Injunction

The court granted 7 West 21 LI LLC’s request for a filing injunction. A filing injunction is an order limiting a person’s ability to bring particular repetitive or abusive filings. Applying factors used by the Second Circuit, the court relied on Mosseri’s repeated removal attempts, the duplicative nature of the filings, the timing of the removals, the expenses imposed on the landlord, and the burden on the courts.

The court found that Mosseri had no good-faith expectation of prevailing because he had been told that federal jurisdiction was unavailable absent a change in circumstances, and no such change had occurred. Although Mosseri was representing himself and therefore was entitled to some latitude, the court stated that this did not excuse vexatious or frivolous conduct.

The court granted a narrow injunction barring Mosseri from removing the Housing Court proceeding to federal court again. It stated that the injunction did not bar any appeal from orders entered in this federal case and warned that violating the order could result in additional sanctions, including monetary penalties.

Attorney’s Fees and Costs

The court denied 7 West 21 LI LLC’s request for attorney’s fees and costs under 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c). Although the court had discretion to award those expenses when removal lacked an objectively reasonable basis, it declined to do so because Mosseri was self-represented, was defending an eviction proceeding, had received permission to proceed without paying fees in several federal cases, and was already subject to the filing injunction.

Recusal Motion

The court denied Mosseri’s motion asking Judge Vargas to recuse herself. Recusal means that a judge steps aside because impartiality might reasonably be questioned. The court found that Mosseri had not identified evidence that reasonably called the judge’s impartiality into question. It also rejected his claim that the landlord’s attorneys had improperly contacted the court.

Disposition

The court granted the motion to remand, granted the request for a filing injunction, denied the request for attorney’s fees and costs, and denied the motion for recusal. It directed the Clerk to close the federal case and terminate the pending motions.