Opinion ID: 765264
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The One-Year Limitation of 28 U.S.C. 1446(b)

Text: 30 In addition to the 30-day time limitation provided by the first paragraph of 28 U.S.C. 1446(b), set out in the preceding section of this opinion, the second paragraph of 1446(b) provides an additional one-year time limit on removal: 31 If the case stated by the initial pleading is not removable, a notice of removal may be filed within thirty days after receipt by the defendant, through service or otherwise, of a copy of an amended pleading, motion, order or other paper from which it may first be ascertained that the case is one which is or has become removable, except that a case may not be removed on the basis of jurisdiction conferred by section 1332 of this title more than 1 year after commencement of the action. 32 28 U.S.C. 1446(b) (emphasis added). 33 [I]n diversity actions Rule 3 [of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure] governs the date from which various timing requirements of the Federal Rules begin to run. Walker v. Armco Steel Corp., 446 U.S. 740, 751 (1980) (footnote omitted). Thus, this action began on May 12, 1994, the date upon which Brierly filed his complaint with the court. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 3. Brierly contends that Ellison's removal some 18 months later violated the one-year limitation established by 1446(b). Although this question is one of first impression in this circuit, we are guided in our inquiry by the Ninth Circuit's recent ruling on the same issue in Ritchey v. Upjohn Drug Co., 139 F.3d 1313 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 119 S.Ct. 407 (1998). 34 As framed by the court in Ritchey, the question is basically whether the exception stated in the second paragraph of 1446(b) applies to the entire subsection, or only to the second paragraph, quoted above. See Ritchey, 139 F.3d at 1316. In interpreting the statutory language, we are mindful that the statutes conferring removal jurisdiction are to be construed strictly because removal jurisdiction encroaches on state court's jurisdiction. See Shamrock Oil & Gas Corp. v. Sheets, 313 U.S. 100, 108-09 (1941). Thus, in the interest of comity and federalism, federal jurisdiction should be exercised only when it is clearly established, and any ambiguity regarding the scope of 1446(b) should be resolved in favor of remand to the state courts. 35 Nevertheless, in this case we are constrained by the plain language of the statutory provision. Based upon ordinary language usage, the qualifying clause -- except that a case may not be removed on the basis of jurisdiction conferred by section 1332 of this title more than 1 year after commencement of the action- can only be interpreted to modify the antecedent clause to which it is attached, and not previous sections of the text. If Congress had intended to place a one-year limitation on removal of all diversity cases, it surely would have chosen less obscure and counter-intuitivewording to accomplish that purpose. In addition, the policy discussion found within the legislative history provides support for this interpretation. See Ritchey, 139 F.3d at 1316-17(discussing legislative history); see also New York Life Ins. Co. v. Deshotel, 142 F.3d 873, 886-87 (5th Cir. 1998) (same). We hold that the one-year limitation on removal of diversity cases applies only to those that were not initially removable and, therefore, that Ellison's petition for removal was not untimely. 4