Removal and supplemental jurisdiction

Removal’s Federal Gate: Who May Move the Case and Where

Removal and supplemental jurisdiction require separate decisions: first, whether a defendant may move a state-court action into federal court; second, which related claims may remain there.

Run the removal analysis in this order:

1. Identify original jurisdiction. The federal court must have original jurisdiction over at least one claim. A well-pleaded federal claim can supply federal-question removal jurisdiction; a defense or counterclaim cannot. Diversity-only removal depends on the diversity requirements already covered in the topic lesson.

2. Identify the remover. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1441(a), removal is ordinarily available only to the defendant or defendants, not the plaintiff.

3. Check the forum-defendant rule. In an action removable solely on diversity grounds, § 1441(b)(2) bars removal when any properly joined and served defendant is a citizen of the forum state. The rule does not bar federal-question removal. A forum defendant who has not yet been served does not trigger this particular bar.

4. Check consent. All defendants who have been properly joined and served must join in or consent to removal. This is the rule of unanimity. A later-served defendant receives its own 30-day period and may trigger a new opportunity for the earlier-served defendants to consent.

5. Select the district. The notice belongs in the federal district embracing the state court’s location, not necessarily the district where a defendant resides or where the events occurred.

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If the federal claim is accompanied by a state claim arising from the same facts, the state claim ordinarily travels under supplemental jurisdiction. If a federal-question action also contains a claim outside both original and supplemental jurisdiction, § 1441(c) permits removal of the entire action but requires the federal court to sever and remand that unrelated claim. Thus, “state-law claim” does not itself mean “remand.” This is closed-book: you must be able to state these requirements from memory.

The Thirty-Day Clock: Notice, Consent, and Remand

Section 1446 governs the mechanics. The removing defendant files a notice of removal in the proper federal district, stating the grounds for removal and attaching the relevant pleadings, process, and orders. The defendant must file within 30 days after receiving, through service or otherwise, the initial pleading showing removability. If the initial pleading is not removable, a later amended pleading, motion, order, or other paper can start a new 30-day period when removability first becomes ascertainable.

Every properly joined and served defendant must consent within the applicable period. Failure to obtain required consent is a procedural defect, not a defect in subject-matter jurisdiction. In a diversity case, removal generally must also occur within one year after commencement, unless the plaintiff acted in bad faith to prevent removal. That one-year limit does not govern federal-question removal.

After filing, the removing party promptly gives written notice to the adverse parties and files a copy with the state clerk. The state court then ceases proceeding unless and until the case is remanded. Do not confuse the proper removal district with federal venue or transfer: the removal destination is fixed by the state court’s geographic location.

Under § 1447(c), a party must move to remand for any defect other than lack of subject-matter jurisdiction within 30 days after the notice of removal is filed. A court must remand whenever it lacks subject-matter jurisdiction, even if no party timely moved. By contrast, a procedural defect is ordinarily lost if the 30-day remand deadline passes.

The near miss is therefore jurisdictional versus procedural: absence of an original-jurisdiction basis is never cured by silence, while improper procedure generally is.

Supplemental Jurisdiction’s Outer Edge: Related Claims and Mandatory Limits

Section 1367(a) supplies supplemental jurisdiction over additional claims that form part of the same Article III case or controversy as a claim within original jurisdiction. The usual formulation is a common nucleus of operative fact. The claims need not involve identical legal theories, but they must substantially overlap in facts. A shared defendant, a general relationship between the disputes, or overlapping witnesses alone is not enough.

Supplemental jurisdiction can include claims involving additional parties. It is not an independent doorway into federal court: at least one claim must first support original jurisdiction. A state-law claim cannot be removed by itself merely because it is related to another state-law claim.

Section 1367(b) creates a mandatory restriction in an action whose original jurisdiction is founded solely on diversity. In that setting, supplemental jurisdiction is unavailable when its exercise would be inconsistent with the diversity requirements and the claim is:

• a claim by a plaintiff against a person made a party under Rule 14, 19, 20, or 24;
• a claim by a person proposed to be joined as a plaintiff under Rule 19 or 24; or
• a claim by a person seeking to intervene as a plaintiff under Rule 24.

The key near miss is § 1367(b) versus § 1367(c). Section 1367(b) is a mandatory, diversity-only bar aimed at particular plaintiff claims and added-party configurations. Section 1367(c) is discretionary and can apply in any case with supplemental claims.

Section 1367(b) does not broadly eliminate every related claim. For example, a plaintiff’s related claim against an existing diverse defendant may remain supplemental when the diversity requirements are otherwise satisfied. Nor does the text impose the same listed-claim restriction on a defendant’s related counterclaim. The exact party and claim direction matters.

Even when § 1367(a) authorizes supplemental jurisdiction and § 1367(b) does not forbid it, § 1367(c) allows the court to decline. The court may decline when:

1. the supplemental claim raises a novel or complex issue of state law;
2. the supplemental claims substantially predominate over the claims within original jurisdiction;
3. the court has dismissed all claims over which it had original jurisdiction; or
4. in exceptional circumstances, there are other compelling reasons for declining jurisdiction.

Declining is permissive, not automatic. The court considers judicial economy, convenience, fairness, and comity. Dismissal of the federal anchor therefore does not mechanically require remand or dismissal of every state claim; it creates the § 1367(c)(3) discretion to decide whether the remaining claims belong in federal court.

The second near miss is same case or controversy versus supplemental authorization. A claim may satisfy § 1367(a) yet still be unavailable under § 1367(b), or available yet declined under § 1367(c). Analyze those stages separately.

One Removal File: Two Answers Hidden Among Six

A plaintiff, a citizen of State A, sues D1, a citizen of State A, and D2, a citizen of State B, in a State A court located in Federal District X. The complaint pleads a federal employment claim against D1, a related state contract claim against D1, and a related state claim against D2. All defendants are properly served, both consent within 30 days, and D1 files the notice in District X.

Three Timed Drills: Removal Defects and Supplemental Limits

High-Yield Points - ⚡ Biggest Takeaways

Remove only when original jurisdiction exists, and file in the district embracing the state court. Treat missing subject-matter jurisdiction as permanent; treat other removal defects as 30-day remand issues. Analyze supplemental jurisdiction in three stages: same case, § 1367(b) bar, then § 1367(c) discretion.