40235 Washington Street Corp. v. W.C. Lusardi
Opinion
Opinion
Washington Street Corporation (“WSC”) appeals from the district court’s order dismissing its complaint and, in the alternative, staying the federal proceeding in favor of a parallel state court action involving identical issues. We affirm.
BACKGROUND
WSC was created on February 20, 1990. On or about February 28, it purchased an apartment complex in Palm Desert, California, and a second parcel of real property located on the same lot. The following day, it filed a Chapter 11 petition for bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of California. On March 5,1990, the Riverside County tax collector sold the apartment complex to W.C. Lusardi, and the other property to Linda Chen-Mei Hwang. On May 15,1990, the bankruptcy court dismissed WSC’s bankruptcy petition.
Lusardi filed a quiet title action in Riverside County Superior Court on June 20, 1990, to compel WSC to turn over the property. The state court appointed a receiver to operate and manage the apartments in an order dated November 16, 1990.
On October 25, 1990, WSC filed this complaint in federal district court seeking a declaration that the tax sale to Lusardi was void ab initio because WSC…