Tenants’ Lawsuit Over Costs in Prior State Suit Gets Reinstated

The Ninth Circuit reversed a district court’s ruling that tenants were precluded from challenging costs in a state suit by the Rooker-Feldman doctrine and remanded the suit on Tuesday.

Since the memorandum of costs at the heart of the tenants’ suit was never the subject of a state-court judgment, the doctrine didn’t apply, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit said. The doctrine holds that federal courts other than the US Supreme Court shouldn’t review state court decisions without express Congressional authorization.

The tenants sued Duringer Law Group in 2020 and alleged the firm filed for duplicative interest ...