Opinion ID: 1983259
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: jurisdiction

Text: On March 6, 1984, just prior to closing arguments in the trial of this case, appellant notified the trial court and appellees that it had petitioned the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania for removal of the case to that court. Normally, the filing of such a petition imposes an automatic stay on any further proceedings in the state court and any proceedings that are conducted in the state court are a nullity until there has been a remand by the federal court. Fischman v. Fischman, 470 F.Supp. 980 (E.D.Pa. 1979); 28 U.S.C. § 1446(e). In other words, this federal removal provision has the effect of a statutory stay of further state proceedings. Vendetti v. Schuster, 242 F.Supp. 746, 751 (W.D.Pa. 1965). In response to appellant-Eaton's removal petition, appellee-Wenrick filed a motion in the District Court requesting, inter alia, that the court declare the petition void ab initio since Eaton had not secured the consent of the co-defendant, SMS, to the removal. With two limited exceptions not applicable to this case, all defendants must join in or consent to removal. Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Ry. v. Martin, 178 U.S. 245, 20 S.Ct. 854, 44 L.Ed. 1055 (1900). In a Memorandum Opinion and Order dated April 16, 1984, Judge VanArtsdalen of the District Court rejected Eaton's removal petition and remanded the case for further proceedings in the state court. The reason for the rejection of the petition was the failure of appellant to secure SMS's consent. However, the District Court expressly refused to rule on appellee's request that the removal petition be declared void ab initio, noting that [b]ecause no party sought to have the state court proceedings enjoined, and because this court must remand this action for lack of jurisdiction, the question of the effect of removal on the state court proceedings is not properly before this court. That issue is a matter to be determined in the state proceedings on remand. Memorandum Opinion and Order of VanArtsdalen, J., Wenrick v. SMS AG, No. 84-1121 (E.D.Pa. April 16, 1984). (R. 1215a n. 2). Eaton strenuously argues that the removal statute rendered all proceedings in this case in the state court after the filing of the removal petition void. However, Eaton cites no precedent from any federal court sitting in Pennsylvania to support this proposition. The only case that Eaton does cite from such a court is Fischman v. Fischman, supra , but that case presented only the question of the effect of a valid removal on subsequent state court proceedings. It did not present the question raised in this case, namely the effect on state court proceedings of an attempted removal that lacked the necessary jurisdictional requisites. Judge VanArtsdalen specifically held that Eaton's attempted removal was improvident and without jurisdiction. Memorandum Opinion and Order, supra. (R. 1215a). We agree with the conclusion of the en banc trial court that the procedure followed by the trial judge in this matter, i.e. continuation of the trial after attempted removal, was proper. In at least two cases, the Supreme Court has indicated that where the attempted removal is invalid, the state court proceedings conducted after the attempted removal may be valid. See Metropolitan Casualty Ins. Co. v. Stevens, 312 U.S. 563, 61 S.Ct. 715, 85 L.Ed. 1044 (1941); Yankaus v. Feltenstein, 244 U.S. 127, 37 S.Ct. 567, 61 L.Ed. 1036 (1917). See and compare Crown Construction Co. v. Newfoundland American Insurance Co., Ltd., 429 Pa. 119, 239 A.2d 452 (1968) (requiring strict compliance with removal statute before jurisdiction of state court will be ousted). In deciding that the trial court acted properly in bringing the trial of this case to a conclusion despite the filing of the removal petition, we are also influenced by the particular scenario presented by this case. In this regard, we find it noteworthy that despite its argument that the state court proceedings post-removal were void, Eaton itself fully participated in those proceedings until the end of the trial. Moreover, as Judge VanArtsdalen noted, Eaton did not at any time seek to have those proceedings enjoined by the federal court. Finally, because of the improvident timing of the attempted removal immediately prior to closing arguments in this lengthy trial, a decision that the later state court proceedings were void would have the absurd and impractical result of voiding the entire trial. The state court, therefore, was clearly acting within its power in completing the trial after the invalid removal attempt.