Morales v. Piche
- William Orrick
- 3:22-cv-07017
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 2
Morales v. Piche: Judge Orrick granted Piche’s fee-waiver application and sent the state-law case back to California state court for lack of jurisdiction.
The order affected Vance L. Morales and Jorge Piche by returning their unlawful-detainer case to the California Superior Court for the County of Santa Clara. It also granted Piche’s application to proceed without paying filing fees.
What happened
Morales v. Piche began when Vance L. Morales filed an unlawful-detainer case against Jorge Piche in California state court. Piche, who was representing himself, moved the case to federal court and asked to proceed without paying filing fees.
The court said it lacked authority to hear the case. The complaint raised only a state-law claim, so it presented no federal question. The court also found that the amount required for diversity jurisdiction was not met, although the parties’ citizenship was unclear.
Judge William H. Orrick granted Piche’s application to proceed without paying filing fees and ordered the case remanded to the California Superior Court for Santa Clara County.
The detailed version
- Morales v. Piche · No. 3:22-cv-07017
- William Orrick
- Dec. 2, 2022
Background
Vance L. Morales filed an unlawful-detainer action against Jorge Piche in California state court. Piche removed the case to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California and filed an application to proceed without paying filing fees. The opinion identifies Piche as representing himself.
Jurisdiction
The court explained that a case removed from state court may remain in federal court only if the federal court has subject-matter jurisdiction, meaning legal authority to hear that type of case. The removing party bears the burden of showing that jurisdiction exists.
The court found no federal-question jurisdiction because Morales’s complaint presented only a state-law unlawful-detainer claim. The court also found no diversity jurisdiction because the amount-in-controversy requirement was not met. The opinion states that it was unclear from the complaint and removal notice whether the parties’ citizenship was diverse.
Ruling
The court granted Piche’s application to proceed without paying filing fees. It also ordered the case remanded to the California Superior Court for the County of Santa Clara because the federal court lacked subject-matter jurisdiction.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.