Lopez v. Grace Corporate Park, LLC

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK RICARDO JOSE CALDERÓN LÓPEZ, D/B/A STARLIGHT CONSULTING SERVICES; STARLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT ENTERPRISES, INC., Plaintiffs, 22-CV-11013 (LTS) -against- ORDER GRACE CORPORATION PARK, LLS; 251 WEST, 36 STREET REALTY, Defendant. LAURA TAYLOR SWAIN, Chief United States District Judge: Plaintiff Ricardo Jose Calderón López (“López”), who is appearing pro se, filed a notice of removal to remove to this Court two actions that were pending in the Civil Court of the City of New York, Small Claims Part (“Small Claims”) in 2007. See López v. Grace Corp, Park LLC, No. 16026-SCNY-2007; López v. 251 W. 36 St. Realty, No. 16548-SCNY-2007. (ECF 2, at 3.) López, the plaintiff in both actions, “seeks removal on the grounds of the Deprivation of Const. Right(s) § 1983.” (ECF 2, at 4.) Even assuming these two cases are still pending, the Court finds that Plaintiff cannot remove these actions because he is not the defendant in the state-court matters. The removal statute provides named defendants the right to remove an action, not the plaintiff. See 28 U.S.C. § 1441(a). The Court therefore remands this action to New York City’s Small Claims court. CONCLUSION Because removal of this action is improper, it is remanded under 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c) to the Civil Court of the City of New York, Small Claims. The Clerk of Court is directed to send a copy of this order to that court and to close this action. All pending matters are terminated, including Plaintiff’s motion for permission for electronic case filing (ECF 3).

Dated: January 31, 2023 New York, New York

/s/ Laura Taylor Swain LAURA TAYLOR SWAIN Chief United States District Judge