Exum

I. BACKGROUND

23 The action before the Court is for an unlawful detainer based on non-payment of rent. 24 Defendant’s removal was close to two months after Plaintiff served the Defendant with the 25 complaint. More importantly, the Notice for Removal was filed on April 29, 2024, four court days 26 prior to the scheduled trial set for Monday, May 6, 2024. 27 Finally, the amount of the controversy ranges from $3,506.56 to $4,223.23, absent costs and attorney fees. II. LEGAL STANDARD “Federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction.” Kokkonen v. Guardian Life Ins. Co. of Am., 511 U.S. 375, 377 (1994). “Subject matter jurisdiction ‘can never be forfeited or waived’ and federal courts have a continuing ‘independent obligation to determine whether subject-matter jurisdiction exists.’” Leeson v. Transamerica Disability Income Plan, 671 F.3d 969, 975, n.12 (9th Cir. 2012) (internal citations omitted). “The objection that a federal court lacks subject- matter jurisdiction, see Fed. Rule Civ. Proc. 12(b)(1), may be raised by a party, or by a court on its own initiative, at any stage in the litigation, even after trial and the entry of…