San Diego Family Housing v. Childs

When Donald and Lena Childs and their two children moved into a home on a Naval base in Coronado, California, they were immediately confronted with water leaks and hazardous mold. Their health suffered. They contacted their landlord, San Diego Family Housing (SDFH), and their property manager, Lincoln Military Property Management (LMPM), to report the issues. LMPM sent a mold remediation company. But when the family requested proof that abnormal levels of mold were no longer present, LMPM refused to provide it. After a independent mold testing provider verified that the home remained uninhabitable, the family sued SDFH and LMPM in San Diego County Superior Court, alleging negligence and other state-law claims. The two defendants removed the action to federal court, asserting federal officer jurisdiction. The district court remanded to state court, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed.

SDFH nd LMPM sought review in the Supreme Court. Serving as co-counsel for the Childs family in the Supreme Court, we filed the opposition to the petition, explaining that the legal question presented by the petition had been answered by the Court a month earlier, in Chevron USA Inc. v. Plaquemines Parish and that the Ninth Circuit had already directed the parties to brief the effect of Plaquemines Parish on the issues presented by the case. The Supreme Court then vacated the appellate decision and remanded in light of Plaquemines Parish.