CLD-107 NOT PRECEDENTIAL
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
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No. 22-3265
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IN RE: JAMES COPPEDGE
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On a Petition for Writ of Mandamus from the
District Court for the District of Delaware
(Related to Civ. No. 1:21-cv-01412)
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Submitted Pursuant to Rule 21, Fed. R. App. P.
March 16, 2023
Before: GREENAWAY, JR., MATEY, and FREEMAN, Circuit Judges
(Opinion filed May 31, 2023)
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OPINION*
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PER CURIAM
In 2011, the Delaware Superior Court granted judgment in favor of U.S. Bank in a
foreclosure action against Petitioner James Coppedge. See U.S. Bank Nat’l Ass’n v.
Coppedge, No. CV K11L-02-042 RBY, 2015 WL 2209073, at *1 (Del. Super. Ct. May 5,
2015). Since then, Coppedge has repeatedly sought to challenge that judgment in both
*This disposition is not an opinion of the full Court and pursuant to I.O.P. 5.7 does not
constitute binding precedent.
state and federal court, to no avail.1 After the property at issue was sold at a sheriff’s sale
and Coppedge was notified to vacate the premises, he filed a “Motion to Dismiss” in the
District Court. That motion was docketed as a complaint and appeared to challenge the
state court foreclosure judgment, as well as allege, inter alia, unlawful debt collection
practices by defendants Orlans PC and SLS, LLC. Coppedge sought to vacate the state
court judgment of foreclosure and void the transfer of the property. Relying in part on
the Rooker-Feldman doctrine,2 the District Court dismissed the action and denied
Coppedge’s motions for reconsideration. Coppedge filed a notice of appeal, 3 and he now
seeks mandamus relief.4
While his petition is far from a model of clarity, Coppedge appears to challenge
the District Court’s dismissal by objecting to the application and existence of the Rooker-
Feldman doctrine. In addition, Coppedge asks us to void the state court foreclosure
1See, inter alia, Coppedge v. U.S. Bank Nat’l Ass’n, 35 A.3d 418 (Del. 2011) (table);
Coppedge v. U.S. Bank Nat’l Ass’n, 103 A.3d 514 (Del. 2014) (table); Coppedge v.
Conway, Civ. Action No. 14-1477-GMS, 2015 WL 168839 (D. Del. Jan. 12, 2015);
Coppedge v. U.S. Bank Nat’l Ass’n, 176 A.3d 122 (Del. 2017) (table).
2See Rooker v. Fid. Tr. Co., 263 U.S. 413 (1923); D.C. Ct. of App. v. Feldman, 460 U.S.
462 (1983).
3 His appeal is pending at C.A. No. 22-2717.
4Coppedge also filed a previous petition for a writ of mandamus, petitioning this Court to
direct the District Court to vacate its order dismissing the action and denying his various
motions. That petition was denied on January 6, 2023. See C.A. No. 22-2867.
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judgment against him and to cancel the transfer of property that resulted from the
sheriff’s sale.
“Mandamus provides a drastic remedy that a court should grant only in
extraordinary circumstances in response to an act amounting to a judicial usurpation of
power.” In re Diet Drugs Prods. Liab. Litig., 418 F.3d 372, 378 (3d Cir. 2005) (citation
and internal quotation marks omitted). To justify the Court’s use of this remedy,
Coppedge must show a clear and indisputable right to the writ and that he has no other
adequate means to obtain the relief desired. Haines v. Liggett Group Inc., 975 F.2d 81,
89 (3d Cir. 1992). Coppedge has not met this burden.
Notably, Coppedge’s mandamus petition once again appears to challenge the
District Court’s decision (in fact, repeating issues that are the subject of his pending
appeal), and mandamus is not a substitute for appeal. See In re Kensington Int’l Ltd., 353
F.3d 211, 219 (3d Cir. 2003) (“If, in effect, an appeal will lie, mandamus will not.”). To
the extent that Coppedge seeks to have this Court vacate the state court judgment of
foreclosure and void the sale of the subject property, we deny his request as we are
generally without authority to issue a writ of mandamus to a state court, or otherwise
compel a state actor to perform a state action. See In re Grand Jury Proceedings, 654
F.2d 268, 278 (3d Cir. 1981); In re Wolenski, 324 F.2d 309, 309 (3d Cir. 1963) (per
curiam).
Accordingly, we will deny the mandamus petition.
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