Commodity Futures Trading Commission v. Alexandre

Background

Eddy Alexandre, acting pro se, meaning without a lawyer, filed an application in the federal action involving the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Alexandre, and EminiFX, Inc. The filing sought two principal forms of relief: permission for Alexandre to intervene, meaning join the case as a party, and removal, meaning transfer, of a related action from New York State Supreme Court to the Southern District of New York. The filing also requested protection for Alexandre’s home address and telephone numbers.

Alexandre’s Position

Alexandre argued that the state-court action brought by the receiver involved allegations connected to the same events and federal litigation. He asserted that the proceedings were duplicative, that the cases raised overlapping issues, and that he had a significant interest because the state-court complaint allegedly mentioned him even though he was not named as a party. He asked the federal court to allow intervention, order removal of the state-court action, and direct that his identifying information be sealed.

Ruling

The court denied the application. Judge Valerie Caproni stated: “This Court has no jurisdiction to issue orders affecting the state court action described in this submission.” The clerk was directed to mail a copy of the order to Alexandre and note the mailing on the docket. The order does not separately address the merits of Alexandre’s intervention arguments, the legal propriety of removal, or his confidentiality request.