Fenton v. Dudley

Dist. Ct. lacked jurisdiction to consider plaintiff’s state court lawsuit against defendants (attorneys for individual in pending Fair Housing Act lawsuit alleging that instant plaintiff rendered inferior legal services on account of individual’s race in underlying foreclosure proceeding), where instant state court action alleged claims of defamation, conversion, tortious interference with business relationships. Only potential for jurisdiction was defendants’ invocation of civil-rights removal statute under 28 USC section 1443(1), where defendants argued that instant lawsuit was calculated to deny them their rights under section 818 of Fair Housing Act to be free from threats to their providing legal assistance to individual in pending Fair Housing Act case. However, defendants did not satisfy requirements for removal under section 1443(1) since they failed to show that they would be denied their civil-equality rights in state court. Moreover, defendants could not show that federal law gave them right to engage in alleged misconduct in instant case, even when rendering services on behalf of individual in Fair Housing Act claim.