Title: Removal Jurisdiction Clarification Act of 2020
Policy area: Law

Summary:
Removal Jurisdiction Clarification Act of 2020
This bill requires federal courts to remand to state court, upon motion, civil actions that are removed to federal court solely on the basis of diversity jurisdiction, if a citizen of the state where the action has been brought has joined as a defendant but has not yet been served. Such actions must be remanded if such a defendant is served within the eligible time period.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5801 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5801

  To amend title 28, United States Code, to establish a procedure for 
  remand of a civil action that has been removed before service on a 
                forum defendant, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 7, 2020

 Mr. Johnson of Georgia (for himself, Mr. Nadler, Ms. Dean, Ms. Garcia 
 of Texas, Mr. Cartwright, Mr. Raskin, Mr. Swalwell of California, Mr. 
 Cohen, Ms. Schakowsky, Ms. Norton, Mr. Rush, Mrs. Watson Coleman, and 
Mr. Espaillat) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend title 28, United States Code, to establish a procedure for 
  remand of a civil action that has been removed before service on a 
                forum defendant, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Removal Jurisdiction Clarification 
Act of 2020''.

SEC. 2. REMOVAL BEFORE SERVICE ON A FORUM DEFENDANT.

    (a) Removal.--Section 1447 of title 28, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(f)(1) A court shall remand a case described in paragraph (2) to 
the State court from which it was removed if--
                    ``(A) within 30 days after filing of the notice of 
                removal under section 1446(a), or within the time 
                specified by State law for service of process, 
                whichever is shorter, a defendant described in 
                paragraph (2)(B) is properly served in the manner 
                prescribed by State law; and
                    ``(B) a motion to remand is made in accordance 
                with, and within the time specified by, the first 
                sentence of subsection (c).
    ``(2) This subsection shall apply to a case in which--
            ``(A) a civil action is removed solely on the basis of the 
        jurisdiction under section 1332(a) of this title; and
            ``(B) at the time of removal, any party in interest 
        properly joined as a defendant is a citizen of the State in 
        which such action is brought, but has not been properly 
        served.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 1448 of title 28, United States 
Code, is amended by striking ``In all cases'' and inserting ``Except as 
provided in section 1447(f), in all cases''.
    (c) Effective Date.--
            (1) In general.--The amendments made by this Act shall take 
        effect upon the expiration of the 30-day period beginning on 
        the date of enactment of this Act, and shall apply to any civil 
        action commenced on or after such date.
            (2) Commencement of state actions.--With respect to a civil 
        action commenced in State court and removed to Federal court, 
        the civil action shall be deemed to have commenced on the date 
        that the civil action was commenced, within the meaning of 
        State law, in State court.
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