Opinion
No. 4:08CV1830 ERW.
December 2, 2008
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
This matter is before the Court on defendant's removal of this action from Tennessee state court. Upon review of the state court documents, it is apparent that this Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction over this case. As a result, the Court will remand this action back to the Court from which it was removed.
Plaintiff filed a Petition for Order of Protection in the Tennessee Circuit Court, Hamilton County. Plaintiff alleges in her petition that defendant raped her in front of her children. Defendant has filed a competing Petition for Order of Protection in the Circuit Court for St. Louis, Missouri. Defendant alleges in his petition that plaintiff physically assaulted him.
Defendant now seeks to remove the Tennessee case to this Court. Defendant claims that plaintiff kidnapped their children and took them to Tennessee. Defendant claims that the Tennessee court is violating his constitutional rights because it is enforcing an Order of Protection against him even though he does not live in Tennessee.
Under 28 U.S.C. § 1441(a), an action is removable from state court to federal court only where the federal court has "original jurisdiction."
The federal courts lack subject matter jurisdiction over cases involving family relations. Kahn v. Kahn, 21 F.3d 859, 861 (8th Cir. 1994). As a result, cases involving disputes over child custody or protection are not removable from state court to federal court.
Accordingly,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that this action is REMANDED to the Tennessee Circuit Court, Hamilton County.