California Partition Law Blog
The purpose of this article is to explain how a partition action could be brought in federal court. While it is possible to bring a partition action in a federal court, because of how state-specific partition statutes are, partition matters are usually handled in state courts.
Generally, partition actions are governed by state statutes. Also, a claim for partition is usually resolved by equitable remedies, meaning the court follows equitable principles. (Elbert, Ltd. v. Federated Income Properties (1953) 120 Cal. App. 2d 194, 200.) This means protecting the rights of co-tenants or owners and determining rights in a fair way. The jurisdiction to handle a partition claim and determine equitable remedies is granted by a state constitution or by state or federal statutes.
These state statutes give state courts jurisdiction to handle partition claims alongside other real estate issues. For example, in California, the California Code of Civil Procedure section 872.110 gives state superior courts jurisdiction to handle partition matters.