Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Only by dismissing the state case and refiling in the U.S. District Court. You need to bear in mind, however, unless the defendants agree to waive costs, you will be charged a costs bill if the defendants file a memorandum of costs in state court after the dismissal. In addition, if the statute of limitations has run out while the state court case was pending, having filed in state court will not save the cause of action. The dismissal will have the same effect as if the case was never filed, and the new federal case would be subject to dismissal for failure to file in time. The same would be true even if you file the federal case before dismissing the state case. Lastly, very few real estate and real property cases fall within federal court jurisdiction. So before you waste any time on such a scheme, you need to make sure you qualify for federal court jurisdiction.

Plaintiffs generally cannot remove state court actions to federal court. If your case qualifies for federal court jurisdiction, you can dismiss the state court case and then file in federal court. If the defendant has already appeared or been served, you could be liable for costs. Some federal can be heard in state court. Before doing anything, you should probably consult with a local attorney that has federal court experience.