Opinion ID: 765264
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The 30-Day Time Limitation of 28 U.S.C. 1446(b)

Text: 20 Having determined that the district court had jurisdiction to consider Ellison's petition for removal, the next question we must consider is whether, in cases with multiple defendants served at different times, the last-served defendant is allowed a full 30 days after being served to remove or, instead, only has 30 days from time the first defendant is served. The question is one of first impression in this circuit and one that has divided our sister courts. 2 Our analysis begins with the statutory language. Under 28 U.S.C. 1446(b): 21 The notice of removal of a civil action or proceeding shall be filed within thirty days after the receipt by the defendant, through service or otherwise, of a copy of the initial pleading setting forth the claim for relief upon which such action or proceeding is based, or within thirty days after the service of summons upon the defendant if such initial pleading has then been filed in court and is not required to be served on the defendant, whichever period is shorter. . . . 22 The statutory language itself contemplates only one defendant and thus does not answer the question of how to calculate the timing for removal in the event that multiple defendants are served at different times, one or more of them outside the original 30-day period. 23 Faced with slightly different factual settings, the courts have reached varying results by emphasizing the policy underlying the statute. For example, in Brown v. Demco, Inc., 792 F.2d 478, 481-82 (5th Cir. 1986), the Fifth Circuit held that the failure of the first-served defendant to file a notice of removal within 30 days of service prevents all subsequently served defendants from later removing the action to district court unless there is evidence that the plaintiff intentionally delayed naming other defendant in a bad-fath attempt to prevent removal. See also Getty Oil Corp. v. Insurance Co. of North America, 841 F.2d 1254 (5th Cir. 1988); 14C Charles A. Wright, Arthur R. Miller & Edward H. Cooper, Federal Practice and Procedure: Jurisdiction 3739 at 337 (3d ed.1998) (citing cases). The original defendants in Brown could have removed earlier in the litigation because all the requirements for the district court to exercise diversity jurisdiction had been met, but they had not done so. In holding that the subsequently added defendant could not remove to federal court, the Fifth Circuit concluded: 24 The general rule has been criticized as unfair. . . . [W]e do not perceive the suggested unfairness to the subsequently added defendant who is merely not granted an opportunity that might have been available to others. A defendant who is added to a case in which a co-defendant has failed to seek removal is in no worse position than it would havebeen in if the co-defendant had opposed removal or were domiciled in the same state as the plaintiff. To permit the defendants in this case to obtain removal after they have tested state-court waters for four years would give them a second opportunity to forum-shop and further delay the progress of the suit. The unfairness of this to the plaintiff outweighs the unfairness, if any, to the last-joined defendant. The forum for a suit ought to be settled at some time early in the litigation. 25 Brown, 792 F.2d at 482. 26 The Fourth Circuit, by contrast, has held that individual defendants have thirty days from the time they are served with process or with a complaint to join in an otherwise valid removal petition. McKinney v. Board of Trustees of Maryland Community College, 955 F.2d 924, 928 (4th Cir. 1992). In McKinney, the earlier-served defendants had petitioned for removal within their allotted 30 days, and the question was whether a later-served defendant could join in their removal petition after that 30-day period had elapsed. The Fourth Circuit articulated several policy considerations supporting its conclusion. First, the court stated, it did not believe Congress intended the inequity that would result from establishing one fixed deadline for defendants served as much as thirty days apart. Id. at 927. The court additionally noted a policy concern that was not present when Demco was decided by the Fifth Circuit, pointing out that in 1988, Congress amended 1446(a) to provide that petitions for removal are now subject to Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. See Judicial Improvements and Access to Justice Act, Pub.L.No. 100-702, 1016(b), 102 Stat. 4669 (1988). In light of that amendment, the court reasoned, a rule that the last-served defendant has 30 days in which to remove a case to federal court is imperative. Otherwise, later served defendants will either have to forego removal or join hurriedly in a petition for removal and face possible Rule 11 sanctions. McKinney, 955 F.2d at 928. The court also responded to the argument that plaintiffs are entitled to know early in the proceedings whether the case will be heard in state or federal court, noting that plaintiffs can ensure a quick resolution of the forum by simply mak[ing] sure that all defendants are served at about the same time. Id. at 927. 27 The facts in this case are somewhat different than the facts before the Mckinney court in that the earlier-served defendants in McKinney had a valid petition for removal pending at the time the later-served defendant joined in the removal petition, whereas the earlier-served defendant in the case at bar had failed in its attempts to remove the case when the later-served defendant filed a new removal petition. Nonetheless, we find that the policy considerations articulated by the Fourth Circuit in McKinney are equally applicable to the facts before this court. 28 Furthermore, as a matter of statutory construction, holding that the time for removal commences for all purposes upon service of the first defendant would require us to insert first before defendant into the language of the statute. See id. We are naturally reluctant to read additional words into the statute, however. If Congress had intended the 30-day removal period to commence upon service of the first defendant, it could have easily so provided. For that reason, and as a matter of fairness to later-served defendants, we hold that a later-served defendant has 30 days from the date of service to remove a case to federal district court, with the consent of the remaining defendants. 3 29