Theodore Watkins and Vivian Watkins v. William B. Grover

This is an appeal from a dismissal with prejudice of a suit brought by appellant alleging forcible entry. Since two of the four defendants in the original action were federal court officers, the entire case was removed (pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1442 (a)(3) ), from the California Superior Court in which it was filed, and dismissed as to the federal defendants by the district court on the ground that they were immune from liability. Thereafter, based upon an assumption that it had no jurisdiction to hear the state claims against the remaining defendants unless independent grounds for federal jurisdiction could be shown, the district court dismissed the case with prejudice. The court’s assumption, however, was incorrect. The modern rule (and the law of this circuit) is that a federal court does have the power to hear claims that would not be independently removable even after the basis for removal jurisdiction is dropped from the proceedings. Murphy v. Kodz, 351 F.2d 163, 167 (9th Cir. 1965). See also Brough v. United Steelworkers of America, AFL-CIO, 437 F.2d 748, 750 (1st Cir. 1971); Rotermund v. United States Steel Corp., 346 F.Supp. 69, 76 (E.D.Mo.1972), aff’d, 474 F.2d…