By: Derek Hawkins//November 12, 2019//
7th Circuit Court of Appeals
Case Name: Jamie Swartz, et al. v. Heartland Equine Rescue, et al.
Case No.: 18-3260
Officials: FLAUM, SYKES, and SCUDDER, Circuit Judges.
Focus: Subject-matter Jurisdiction
The plaintiffs, Jamie and Sandra Swartz, allege a conspiracy among multiple state and private defendants to deprive them of their property, namely, several goats and horses. The district court dismissed the private defendants and later entered summary judgment in favor of the state defendants. We now vacate the district court’s rulings and remand this case for dismissal due to a lack of federal subject matter jurisdiction. The Swartzes’ claims are inextricably intertwined with state court judgments, requiring dismissal under the Rooker-Feldman doctrine.
Vacated and remanded