Opinion ID: 2807870
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The United States or any agency thereof or

Text: any officer (or any person acting under that officer) of the United States or of any agency 16 thereof, in an official or individual capacity, for or relating to any act under color of such office or on account of any right, title or authority claimed under any Act of Congress for the apprehension or punishment of criminals or the collection of the revenue. ... (d) In this section, the following definitions apply: (1) The terms “civil action” and “criminal prosecution” include any proceeding (whether or not ancillary to another proceeding) to the extent that in such proceeding a judicial order, including a subpoena for testimony or documents, is sought or issued. If removal is sought for a proceeding described in the previous sentence, and there is no other basis for removal, only that proceeding may be removed to the district court. 28 U.S.C. § 1442(a)(1), (d)(1). “Section 1442(a) is an exception to the well-pleaded complaint rule, under which (absent diversity) a defendant may not remove a case to federal court unless the plaintiff’s complaint establishes that the case arises under federal law.” Kircher v. Putnam Funds Trust, 547 U.S. 633, 644 n.12 (2006) (internal quotation marks omitted). Under this statute, a colorable federal defense is sufficient to confer federal jurisdiction. See id. Unlike the general removal statute, the federal officer removal statute is to be “broadly construed” in favor of a federal forum. See Sun Buick, Inc. v. Saab Cars USA, Inc., 26 F.3d 1259, 1262 (3d Cir. 1994). 17 The Removal Clarification Act of 2011, Pub. L. 11251, 125 Stat. 545 (2011), made two amendments to § 1442 that are relevant here. First, the Act clarified that the term “civil action” includes ancillary proceedings, so long as a “judicial order” is sought or issued. Id. at 545; see § 1442(d)(1). Second, it added the words “or relating to” after “for” in § 1442(a). 125 Stat. 545. The House Committee on the Judiciary wrote that the changes to the statute were meant “to ensure that any individual drawn into a State legal proceeding based on that individual’s status as a Federal officer has the right to remove the proceeding to a U.S. district court for adjudication.” H.R. Rep. No. 112-17, pt. 1 (2011), as reprinted in 2011 U.S.C.C.A.N. 420, 420. Furthermore, adding the “or relating to” language is “intended to broaden the universe of acts that enable Federal officers to remove to Federal court.” Id. at 425.