Rebecca Cannon v. Spokane Merchants Association

MEMORANDUM

Appellant Rebecca M. Cannon appeals the district court’s judgment dismissing her complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction on the basis of the Rooker-Feldman doctrine. We vacate and remand.

1. The district court erred in concluding that the Rooker-Feldman doctrine applies to this case. Cannon is not a state-court loser complaining of injuries caused by an allegedly erroneous state court judgment, nor does she seek relief from the state court judgment. See Exxon Mobil Corp. v. Saudi Basic Indus. Corp., 544 U.S. 280, 284 , 125 S.Ct. 1517 , 161 L.Ed.2d 454 (2005). Because she “asserts as a legal wrong an allegedly illegal act or omission by an adverse party, Rooker-Feldman does not bar jurisdiction.” Noel v. Hall, 341 F.3d 1148, 1164 (9th Cir.2003). That the subject matter of the federal action may be “intertwined” with the subject matter of the state court action does not require dismissal under Rooker-Feld-man, because Cannon does not seek to bring a de facto appeal of a state court judgment. Id. at 1158 (“Only when there is already a forbidden de facto appeal in federal court does the ‘inextricably intertwined’ test come into play....”).

2. Because the…