Atlantic Wave Holdings, LLC v. Cyberlux Corporation

Summary

The United States District Court for the Southern District of California sua sponte remands the proceeding for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The court holds that domestication of a sister-state judgment under California's Sister State Money Judgments Act is a supplementary proceeding, not a removable civil action, and that a federal court lacks authority to register, enforce, or vacate the state-court judgment at issue. The court leaves the defendant's motion to vacate for resolution by the San Diego Superior Court.

Holdings

1. A proceeding to register a sister-state judgment under California's Sister State Money Judgments Act is a supplementary proceeding, not a removable civil action under 28 U.S.C. § 1441(a), because it is inseparably connected to the underlying state judgment and is not readily assimilated to an ordinary action at law or suit in equity.
2. The district court lacked original jurisdiction over the proceeding because the domestication of a state-court judgment could not have been filed originally in federal court.
3. Defendant failed to establish federal-question or federal-officer removal jurisdiction because the notice of removal and the underlying documents did not allege facts plausibly satisfying the requirements for either jurisdictional basis.

Questions Presented

1. Whether a proceeding to register or domesticate a sister-state money judgment under California's Sister State Money Judgments Act is a removable civil action under 28 U.S.C. § 1441(a).
2. Whether the federal district court had original jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332 over the domestication proceeding.
3. Whether Defendant established federal-question or federal-officer removal jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1442.
4. Whether a federal district court has authority to register, vacate, or enforce a state-court judgment under 28 U.S.C. § 1963.

Disposition

remanded