Opinion ID: 791020
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Transferability of the Appeal

Text: 26 NTT asserts that in the event that we do not have jurisdiction to hear its appeal, the appeal should be transferred to the Fifth Circuit. NTT raises a procedural issue to preserve its appeal. NTT's original Notice of Removal was based exclusively on 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1338(a), but it filed a Supplemental Notice of Removal on October 15, 2001, that included a claim for removal jurisdiction based on 28 U.S.C. § 1330. The district court found jurisdiction under NTT's original Notice of Removal and dismissed NTT's motion to file its Supplemental Notice of Removal on the grounds that it was untimely and NTT had failed to show cause as to why, as required by 28 U.S.C. § 1441(d). NTT argues that its Supplemental Notice of Removal was not untimely because NTT had not been properly served under the Hague Convention and therefore the thirty day removal period had not yet begun to run. See Murphy Bros. v. Michetti Pipe Stringing, Inc., 526 U.S. 344, 350-51, 119 S.Ct. 1322, 143 L.Ed.2d 448 (1999) (holding that service of process is the official trigger for responsive action by an individual or entity named defendant). NTT initially raised this issue in its Supplemental Notice of Removal, but did not pursue it after the district court found jurisdiction based on its original Notice of Removal. 27 NTT presents a colorable argument that its Supplemental Notice of Removal was timely and therefore preserved its claim to removal jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1330. Accordingly, because NTT presents an alternative jurisdictional argument capable of being heard by the Fifth Circuit, it is in the interest of justice to transfer the appeal to that court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1631. It will then be for the Fifth Circuit to determine if NTT properly raised its additional basis for removal jurisdiction and if it is appropriate to reach NTT's claim for sovereign immunity.