The court vacated the district court’s grant of partial summary judgment to the defendant with instructions to remand to the state court because there is no subject matter jurisdiction for this legal malpractice case in federal courts following the Supreme Court’s decision in Gunn v. Minton: “federal jurisdiction is lacking here under Gunn because no federal issue is necessarily raised, because any federal issues raised are not substantial in the relevant sense, and because the resolution by federal courts of attorney malpractice claims that do not raise substantial issues of federal law would usurp the important role of state courts in regulating the practice of law within their boundaries, disrupting the federal – state balance approved by Congress.”
NeuroRepair, Inc. v. The Nath Law Group, Case No. 2013-1073 (January 15, 2015); Opinion by: Wallach, joined by Chen and Hughes; Appealed From: Southern District of California, Houston, J. To read the full opinion, click here.
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