Opinion ID: 767378
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Propriety of Remand

Text: 18 We also note that the district court had the authority to remand rather than dismiss Long's state-law claims under 28 U.S.C. § 1367(c). In Carnegie-Mellon Univ. v. Cohill, 484 U.S. 343 (1988), the Supreme Court held that a district court has discretion to remand pendent state-law claims rather than dismissing them, if the values of economy, convenience, fairness, and comity so dictate. 19 Carnegie-Mellon was decided before 28 U.S.C. § 1367 was adopted, however, and the language of § 1367 does not explicitly grant district courts the authority to remand cases to the state courts rather than dismiss them without prejudice. 7 Nonetheless, we believe that the discretion to remand was incorporated into that statute. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit so held in Edmondson & Gallagher v. Alban Towers Tenants Ass'n, 48 F.3d 1260 (D.C. Cir. 1995). As that court explained: 20 Whether to remand or dismiss is a matter normally left to the discretion of the district court, see Carnegie-Mellon, 484 U.S. at 357, 108 S. Ct. at 622-23. We find this discretion unaffected by the subsequent enactment of 28 U.S.C. § 1367(d), in the Judicial Improvements Act of 1990 . . . . Section 1367(d) tolls the state statute of limitations on any state claim over which a federal court has exercised supplemental jurisdiction until 30 days after its dismissal. It thus reduces one concern expressed in Carnegie-Mellon -- that plaintiffs would lose their claims if their case were dismissed rather than remanded. Other concerns remain, however, such as convenience to the parties and a faster resolution of the case. We find no indication in the legislative history of the Judicial Improvements Act that Congress intended to limit the district court's discretion to remand in a case removed from state court. 21 Id. at 1267 (citation omitted). Furthermore, most circuits, including this one, have assumed that the discretionary power to remand survives the adoption of § 1367. See, e.g., Musson Theatrical, Inc. v. Federal Express Corp., 89 F.3d 1244, 1254-55 (6th Cir. 1996); Decatur Mem'l Hosp. v. Connecticut Gen. Life Ins. Co., 990 F.2d 925, 927-28 (7th Cir. 1993); Executive Software N. Am., Inc. v. United States Dist. Ct., 24 F.3d 1545, 1551-53 (9th Cir. 1994); see also 28 U.S.C.A. § 1367 Practice Commentary 835 (1993); 14C Charles Alan Wright, Arthur R. Miller & Edward H. Cooper, Federal Practice & Procedure: Jurisdiction 3d § 3739, at 498-501 (1998). We agree with the analysis of the D.C. Circuit and hold that the district court acted properly in remanding rather than dismissing Long's case. 8