Braga v. Braga
- Beth Freeman
- 5:21-cv-06331
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 2
In Braga v. Braga, Judge Freeman remanded the probate action to state court for lack of federal jurisdiction and terminated the remand motion as moot.
The action returns to Santa Clara County Superior Court; the federal case was closed, and the plaintiff’s remand motion was terminated as moot.
What happened
In Braga v. Braga, Stephen Joseph Braga removed a probate action from Santa Clara County Superior Court to federal court. The plaintiff was Dorothy Catherine Braga, acting through her conservator, Mary Ann Warren, the Public Guardian of Santa Clara County.
The federal court ordered the case sent back to Santa Clara County Superior Court because it lacked federal jurisdiction. Stephen Braga did not respond to the court’s order asking him to explain why the case should remain in federal court. The court terminated the plaintiff’s motion to remand as moot and directed the clerk to close the file.
Judge Beth Labson Freeman issued the order on September 29, 2021.
The detailed version
- Braga v. Braga · No. 5:21-cv-06331
- Beth Freeman
- Sept. 29, 2021
Background
Stephen Joseph Braga removed a probate action from Santa Clara County Superior Court to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on August 16, 2021. The plaintiff was Dorothy Catherine Braga, acting through Mary Ann Warren, the Public Guardian of Santa Clara County, as conservator of Dorothy Braga’s person and estate.
On September 8, 2021, the federal court ordered Stephen Braga to explain why the case should not be returned to state court for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction, meaning the federal court’s authority to hear the case. The court stated that the action appeared to fall within the probate exception to federal jurisdiction. It also explained that references to federal statutes in a notice of removal cannot create federal jurisdiction when federal jurisdiction depends only on a possible defense.
Ruling
Stephen Braga did not respond to the order. The court confirmed that the order had been mailed to his address of record on September 9, 2021. The court therefore remanded the action to Santa Clara County Superior Court for lack of federal jurisdiction. The plaintiff’s motion to remand, filed September 14, 2021, was terminated as moot. The clerk was directed to close the federal case.
Judge Beth Labson Freeman signed the order on September 29, 2021.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.