28 U.S.C. § 1441 — Removal of civil actions
submitted 78 years ago by ch. 646 to r/title-28-JUDICIARY-AND-JUDICIAL-PROCEDURE · 953 words · no verdicts yet
A defendant may remove certain civil cases from State court to the appropriate federal district court. The section addresses ordinary removal, diversity, joined federal and State claims, foreign states, multi-party accidents, remand of damages issues, and jurisdiction over claims the State court could not hear.
(a) Generally. Unless Congress expressly provides otherwise, a defendant may remove a civil action from a State court* if a United States district court* would have original jurisdiction, to the district* and division covering the place where the case is pending. (b) Diversity. (1) For removal based on section 1332(a), ignore the citizenship of defendants sued under fictitious names. (2) A case removable only under section 1332(a) may not be removed if a properly joined and served defendant is a citizen of the State* where the action was brought. (c) Federal and State claims. (1) If a case includes a federal claim under section 1331 and a claim outside the district court's original or supplemental jurisdiction, or made nonremovable by statute, the whole case may be removed if it would be removable without the latter claim. (2) The district court must sever and return that latter claim to the State court. Only defendants against whom the federal claim is asserted must join or consent. (d) Foreign states. A foreign state as defined in section 1603(a) may remove a State-court action to the proper district court. The court must try it without a jury. The section 1446(b) deadline may be extended for shown cause. (e) Multiparty, multiforum jurisdiction. (1) Despite (b), a defendant may remove if the case could have been brought under section 1369, or if the defendant is party to an action that is or could have been brought under section 1369 and arises from the same accident, even if the State case could not originally have been filed federally. Removal follows section 1446, but a notice may also be filed before State trial within 30 days after the defendant first becomes party to the related federal action, or later with district-court permission. (2) If the federal court or a section 1407(j) transferee decides liability and damages remain, it must return the case to the State court for damages unless convenience and justice favor keeping it. (3) Return is delayed 60 days after the liability order and certification of intent to remand. Liability may be appealed during that period; if appealed, remand waits until final disposition. After remand, liability cannot be reviewed further. (4) The remand decision is not reviewable. (5) The case is treated as a section 1369 action for this section and sections 1407, 1697, and 1785. (6) The subsection does not limit transfer or dismissal for an inconvenient forum. (f) Derivative removal jurisdiction. The federal court is not barred from hearing a claim merely because the State court from which the case was removed lacked jurisdiction over it.
Except as otherwise expressly provided by Act of Congress, any civil action brought in a State court* of which the district* courts of the United States have original jurisdiction, may be removed by the defendant or the defendants, to the district court of the United States* for the district and division embracing the place where such action is pending.
In determining whether a civil action is removable on the basis of the jurisdiction under section 1332(a) of this title, the citizenship of defendants sued under fictitious names shall be disregarded.
A civil action otherwise removable solely on the basis of the jurisdiction under section 1332(a) of this title may not be removed if any of the parties in interest properly joined and served as defendants is a citizen of the State* in which such action is brought.
If a civil action includes—
a claim arising under the Constitution, laws, or treaties of the United States (within the meaning of section 1331 of this title), and
a claim not within the original or supplemental jurisdiction of the district court* or a claim that has been made nonremovable by statute,
the entire action may be removed if the action would be removable without the inclusion of the claim described in subparagraph (B).
Upon removal of an action described in paragraph (1), the district court shall sever from the action all claims described in paragraph (1)(B) and shall remand the severed claims to the State court from which the action was removed. Only defendants against whom a claim described in paragraph (1)(A) has been asserted are required to join in or consent to the removal under paragraph (1).
Any civil action brought in a State court against a foreign state as defined in section 1603(a) of this title may be removed by the foreign state to the district court of the United States* for the district and division embracing the place where such action is pending. Upon removal the action shall be tried by the court without jury. Where removal is based upon this subsection, the time limitations of section 1446(b) of this chapter may be enlarged at any time for cause shown.
Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (b) of this section, a defendant in a civil action in a State court may remove the action to the district court of the United States for the district and division embracing the place where the action is pending if—
the action could have been brought in a United States district court under section 1369 of this title; or
the defendant is a party to an action which is or could have been brought, in whole or in part, under section 1369 in a United States district court and arises from the same accident as the action in State court, even if the action to be removed could not have been brought in a district court as an original matter.
The removal of an action under this subsection shall be made in accordance with section 1446 of this title, except that a notice of removal may also be filed before trial of the action in State court within 30 days after the date on which the defendant first becomes a party to an action under section 1369 in a United States district court that arises from the same accident as the action in State court, or at a later time with leave of the district court.
Whenever an action is removed under this subsection and the district court to which it is removed or transferred under section 1407(j) 1 has made a liability determination requiring further proceedings as to damages, the district court shall remand the action to the State court from which it had been removed for the determination of damages, unless the court finds that, for the convenience of parties and witnesses and in the interest of justice, the action should be retained for the determination of damages.
Any remand under paragraph (2) shall not be effective until 60 days after the district court has issued an order determining liability and has certified its intention to remand the removed action for the determination of damages. An appeal with respect to the liability determination of the district court may be taken during that 60-day period to the court of appeals with appellate jurisdiction over the district court. In the event a party files such an appeal, the remand shall not be effective until the appeal has been finally disposed of. Once the remand has become effective, the liability determination shall not be subject to further review by appeal or otherwise.
Any decision under this subsection concerning remand for the determination of damages shall not be reviewable by appeal or otherwise.
An action removed under this subsection shall be deemed to be an action under section 1369 and an action in which jurisdiction is based on section 1369 of this title for purposes of this section and sections 1407, 1697, and 1785 of this title.
Nothing in this subsection shall restrict the authority of the district court to transfer or dismiss an action on the ground of inconvenient forum.
The court to which a civil action is removed under this section is not precluded from hearing and determining any claim in such civil action because the State court from which such civil action is removed did not have jurisdiction over that claim.
Source credit: (June 25, 1948, ch. 646, 62 Stat. 937; Pub. L. 94–583, § 6, Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2898; Pub. L. 99–336, § 3(a), June 19, 1986, 100 Stat. 637; Pub. L. 100–702, title X, § 1016(a), Nov. 19, 1988, 102 Stat. 4669; Pub. L. 101–650, title III, § 312, Dec. 1, 1990, 104 Stat. 5114; Pub. L. 102–198, § 4, Dec. 9, 1991, 105 Stat. 1623; Pub. L. 107–273, div. C, title I, § 11020(b)(3), Nov. 2, 2002, 116 Stat. 1827; Pub. L. 112–63, title I, § 103(a), Dec. 7, 2011, 125 Stat. 759.)
- 1948Enacted · Act of June 25, 1948, ch. 646 · 62 Stat. 937
- 1976Amended · Pub. L. 94-583 · 90 Stat. 2898
- 1986Amended · Pub. L. 99-336 · 100 Stat. 637
- 1988Amended · Pub. L. 100-702 · 102 Stat. 4669
- 1990Amended · Pub. L. 101-650 · 104 Stat. 5114
- 1991Amended · Pub. L. 102-198 · 105 Stat. 1623
- 2002Amended · Pub. L. 107-273 · 116 Stat. 1827
- 2011Amended · Pub. L. 112-63 · 125 Stat. 759
A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by ch. 646 on 1948-06-25.
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