Centre 11 LLC v. Goldstein
- Beth Freeman
- 5:23-cv-03981
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 1
In Centre 11 LLC v. Goldstein, Judge Freeman ordered Goldstein to explain why the case should not return to state court for lack of federal jurisdiction.
Centre 11 LLC and Steven Goldstein; the order specifically requires Goldstein to explain why the case should not be returned to state court.
What happened
Centre 11 LLC v. Goldstein concerns an unlawful-detainer case that Steven Goldstein moved from state court to federal court.
Goldstein claimed the federal court had authority because the case involved a federal question. But the complaint asserted only a claim under California law, so the court questioned whether federal jurisdiction existed.
The court ordered Goldstein to explain in writing by August 29, 2023, why the case should not be sent back to Santa Clara County Superior Court. Judge Beth Freeman did not order the remand in this opinion.
The detailed version
- Centre 11 LLC v. Goldstein · No. 5:23-cv-03981
- Beth Freeman
- Aug. 15, 2023
Background
Centre 11 LLC brought an unlawful-detainer action against Steven Goldstein. Goldstein removed the action to the federal district court on August 8, 2023, claiming that the court had federal-question jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1331. Federal-question jurisdiction allows federal courts to hear civil cases arising under the U.S. Constitution, federal laws, or treaties.
Court’s analysis
The court applied the well-pleaded-complaint rule, which generally asks whether a federal question appears on the face of the plaintiff’s properly pleaded complaint. The court stated that the complaint raised a single unlawful-detainer claim under California law and therefore did not present a federal question on its face.
Order
The court ordered Goldstein to show cause in writing by August 29, 2023, why the action should not be remanded to the Santa Clara County Superior Court for lack of federal subject-matter jurisdiction. The opinion orders a response; it does not itself state that the case was remanded.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.