Ochar v. Bank of Am.

PER CURIAM

UNPUBLISHED

Submitted: September 19, 2024

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at Alexandria. Claude M. Hilton, Senior District Judge. (1:24-cv-00969-CMH-WBP)

Wilson Ochar, Appellant Pro Se.

Nathaniel Patrick Lee, MCGUIREWOODS, LLP, Tysons Corner, Virginia, for Appellee.

Before WYNN, HARRIS, and HEYTENS, Circuit Judges.

Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

PER CURIAM

Wilson Ochar filed this action in a Virginia circuit court, then removed it to federal court. The district court remanded the case back to the state court, explaining that a plaintiff cannot remove his own case. See 28 U.S.C. § 1441(a) (providing that only "the defendant or the defendants" may remove state action to federal court). Ochar seeks to appeal.

Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1447(d), this court cannot review a remand order based on a district court's lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Ellenburg v. Spartan Motors Chassis, Inc., 519 F.3d 192, 196 (4th Cir. 2008). Section 1441(a)'s limitations on removal are jurisdictional in nature. See Palisades Collections LLC v. Shorts, 552 F.3d 327, 333-34 (4th Cir. 2008). Thus, we conclude that the district court's dismissal was based on a defect in subject matter jurisdiction, thereby precluding us from considering this appeal.

Accordingly, we dismiss this appeal for lack of jurisdiction. We deny each of Ochar's pending motions. We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before this court and argument would not aid the decisional process.

DISMISSED.