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United States District Court 

Northern District of California 

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 

ASPIC ENGINEERING AND 

CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, 

Plaintiff, 

v. 

ECC CENTCOM CONSTRUCTORS, LLC 

AND ECC INTERNATIONAL, LLC, 

Defendants.

Case No. 17-cv-00224-YGR 

ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO VACATE 

JUDGMENT; DENYING MOTION TO STAY 

EXECUTION OF JUDGMENT 

 

 Defendants ECCI Intentional, LLC and ECC CENTCOM Constructors (collectively “ECC”) 

bring this motion to vacate a judgment of the Superior Court of California for San Mateo County 

confirming and correcting an arbitration award (the “State Court Judgment”) which was entered 

before this case was removed to federal court. (Dkt. No. 22.) Plaintiff Aspic Engineering and 

Construction Company (“Aspic”) does not oppose the motion. ECC also moves to stay execution of 

the State Court Judgment pending resolution of the motion to vacate judgment. (Dkt. No. 34.) 

 The parties have stipulated that this Court shall “correct, modify or vacate the judgment that 

was entered in the Superior Court . . . .” (Dkt. No. 16 ¶ 7.) The primary issue is whether this Court 

has jurisdiction to vacate the final State Court Judgment. Having carefully considered the parties’ 

fully-briefed motions, and for the reasons set forth below, the Court GRANTS the parties’ motion and 

VACATES the State Court Judgment. Accordingly, the Court DENIES as moot ECC’s motion to stay 

execution of the State Court Judgment. 

I. Relevant Background 

 On September 25, 2015, Aspic brought an arbitration claim against ECC seeking roughly $2.3 

million for its costs of partially performing under certain subcontracts, profit, and attorneys’ fees. 
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United States District Court 

Northern District of California 

(Dkt. No. 20-3, Aspic Posthearing Brief at 6.) On November 14, 2016, the arbitrator issued a final 

award to Aspic and against ECC in the amount of $1,072,520.90. (Dkt. No. 20-9, Final Award at 1.) 

 On December 28, 2016, Aspic petitioned the California Superior Court for San Mateo County 

for an order confirming in part and correcting in part the arbitration award. 

 On December 30, 2016, Judge Richard C. Livermore entered a form of judgment for Aspic on 

all of its requests except for the precise lodestar multiplier, which was notably left blank. (Dkt. No. 1, 

Order Confirming and Correcting the Arbitration Award and Entry of Judgment.) 

 On January 1, 2017, Judge Livermore’s term ended. 

 On January 10, 2017, a summons was issued to ECC by the clerk of the superior court, eleven 

days later after the State Court Judgment was entered. 

 On January 13, 2017, ECC filed an ex parte application to vacate the State Court Judgment, 

contending that the State Court Judgment was entered in error because (i) ECC was never served with 

Aspic’s petition, (ii) an arbitration award cannot be corrected unless a petition has been duly served 

and filed under California Code of Civil Procedure Sections 1286.4 and 1286.8, (iii) the minimum 

time for ECC to respond had not yet run under California Code of Civil Procedure Section 1290.6 

when the judgment was entered, and (iv) a summons was issued to ECC eleven days after the state 

court entered judgment for Aspic. (See Dkt. No. 1, Summons (Citation Judicial); Ex Parte 

Application at 1). 

 The superior court denied the application on January 13, 2017, starting that a notice motion 

was required. (Dkt. No. 1, Denied Order Vacating Order Confirming and Correcting The Arbitration 

Award And Entry Of Judgment.) ECC removed the case to this Court on January 17, 2017, because 

it apparently “did not have sufficient time to have a notice motion in advance of the removal 

deadline.” (Motion to Vacate Judgment at 3.) 

 The parties concur that the State Court Judgment was entered in error. (Dkt. No. 16, Parties 

Joint Stipulation ¶ 7.) 

/// 

/// 

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United States District Court 

Northern District of California 

II. Discussion 

a. Rooker-Feldman doctrine 

 The Court begins by analyzing whether it has jurisdiction to review the State Court Judgment. 

Pursuant to the Rooker-Feldman doctrine, federal district courts lack subject matter jurisdiction to 

exercise appellate review over final state court judgments. See Rooker v. Fidelity Trust Co., 263 U.S. 

413, 415-16 (1923); D.C. Court of Appeals v. Feldman, 460 U.S. 462, 482-86 (1983) (holding that “a 

United States District Court has no authority to review final judgments of a state court in judicial 

proceedings”). However, the Supreme Court has held that “Rooker-Feldman . . . is a narrow doctrine, 

confined to ‘cases brought by state-court losers complaining of injuries caused by state-court 

judgments rendered before the district court proceedings commenced and inviting district court 

review and rejection of those judgments.’” Lance v. Dennis, 546 U.S. 459, 464 (2006) (quoting 

Exxon Mobil Corp. v. Saudi Basic Indus. Corp., 544 U.S. 280, 284 (2005)). 

Rooker–Feldman does not bar a federal district court from “proper exercise of its jurisdiction 

to manage its cases” even if this “has the secondary effect of voiding a state court determination.” In 

re Diet Drugs, 282 F.3d 220, 242 (3d Cir. 2002). For example, when a case is removed from state to 

federal court, Rooker-Feldman does not prohibit the federal district court from reviewing a prior state 

court judgment because “the filing of a notice of removal in the state court terminates the state court's 

jurisdiction over the matter.” Holmes v. AC & S, Inc., 388 F. Supp. 2d 663, 667 (E.D. Va. 2004). The 

district court’s jurisdiction to review such judgments is further evidenced by 28 U.S.C. Section 1450, 

which authorizes district courts to dissolve or modify state court orders entered prior to removal. 

Pursuant to Section 1450, “. . . orders, and other proceedings . . . prior to [a state court action’s] 

removal shall remain in full force and effect until dissolved or modified by the district court.” 

(Emphasis supplied.) 

 The Court thus finds that it has jurisdiction to review the State Court Judgment because (i) the 

state court action at issue was removed to federal court, and (ii) 28 U.S.C. Section 1450 authorizes 

federal courts to vacate state court orders following removal. See Holmes, 388 F. Supp. 2d at 667. 

// 

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b. Grounds for vacating judgments under the Federal Rules 

 The Court now turns to whether there are grounds for vacating the State Court Judgment. 

Federal courts sitting in diversity must apply substantive state law and procedural federal law. Erie 

R. Co. v. Tompkins, 304 U.S. 64, 78 (1938). The requirements for vacating a final judgment are 

procedural in nature because such requirements merely regulate “the judicial process for enforcing 

rights and duties recognized by substantive law and for justly administering remedy and redress for 

disregard or infraction of them.” See Sibbach v. Wilson & Co., 312 U.S. 1, 14 (1941). Thus, federal 

law applies to this motion. 

 Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(a), a court “may correct a clerical mistake or a 

mistake arising from oversight or omission whenever one is found in a judgment . . . .” Section 60(a) 

has been applied primarily to situations involving clerical “blunder” and oversight. See Tattersalls, 

Ltd. v. DeHaven, 745 F.3d 1294, 1297-99 (9th Cir. 2014); Blanton v. Anzalone, 813 F.2d 1574, 1576- 

77 (9th Cir. 1987). At least one federal court has specifically found that a district court may correct 

clerical mistakes in removed state court actions under Rule 60(a). Holmes, 488 F. Supp. 2d at 669. 

 Here, the parties agree that the State Court Judgment was a clerical mistake.1

 The Court 

concurs for myriad reasons: first, the State Court Judgment was stamped a mere two days after Aspic 

filed its petition. Notably, this occurred before the minimum time to respond under California Code 

of Civil Procedure Section 1290.6 had elapsed and before a summons had been issued, much less 

proper service. This latter event did not occur for another eleven days later, substantially after the 

State Court Judgment was entered. Further, the form of judgment was not prepared by the superior 

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 The parties alternately invite the Court to declare the State Court Judgment void pursuant to 

Rule 60(b)(4). Section 60(b)(4) allows federal courts to vacate judgments which are “void.” Fed. R. 

Civ. P. Section 60(b)(4). A judgment is void in “rare instances where a judgment is premised . . . on a 

violation of due process that deprives a party of notice or the opportunity to be heard.” United 

Student Aid Funds, Inc. v. Espinosa, 559 U.S. 260, 271 (2010). The Court declines because reviewing 

whether the State Court Judgment is “premised . . . on a violation of due process that deprives a party 

of notice or the opportunity to be heard,” United Student Aid Funds, 559 U.S. 260 at 271, is precisely 

the type of “appellate review over final state court judgments” which Rooker-Feldman forbids. 

Rooker, 263 U.S. at 415-16; Noel v. Hall, 341 F.3d 1148, 1163 (9th Cir. 2003) (holding that the 

doctrine applies where a federal plaintiffs complains of “harm caused by a state court judgment 

that . . . based on an allegedly erroneous ruling by that court”). 
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United States District Court 

Northern District of California 

court judge. Rather, the form contains a stamp signature and left blank the multiplier for the 

attorneys' fees. Notably, it was also entered just prior to the expiration of the judge's term at the end 

of the year. 

Based upon all of these factors, the Court thus finds that the State Court Judgment was entered 

by mistake pursuant to Rule 60(a). Accordingly, the parties’ motion to vacate judgment is GRANTED. 

III. Conclusion

 The Court finds that it has jurisdiction to review the State Court Judgment. Because the State 

Court Judgment was entered by mistake, it may be properly vacated pursuant to Rule 60(a). 

Therefore, the Court GRANTS the parties’ motion and VACATES the State Court Judgment. 

 Accordingly, the Court DENIES as moot ECC’s motion to stay execution of the State Court 

Judgment. 

 This terminated Docket Numbers 22 and 34. 

IT IS SO ORDERED. 

 

DATED: _________________________________ 

 YVONNE GONZALEZ ROGERS

 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT JUDGE