Removal and Remand: Litigation Strategy

This lesson is an advanced exercise in the removal of civil actions from state to federal court. It explores the common strategies plaintiffs employ to thwart removal and the counter-strategies defendants use to defeat plaintiffs' forum choice.

This lesson assumes basic knowledge of removal and remand and federal question and diversity jurisdiction. You may wish to refresh your recollection of these topics by completing the CALI lessons on them before attempting this lesson.

Learning Outcomes

On completion of the lesson, the student will be able to:

1. Identify and explain the primary strategies plaintiffs employ to thwart removal, including joinder of a non-diverse or forum defendant, manipulation of the amount-in-controversy, and elimination of all references to federal law from the complaint.
2. Identify and explain the primary counter-strategies defendants use to defeat plaintiffs' forum choice, including use of the fraudulent joinder doctrine, pre-service removal, removal based on the plaintiff's bad faith actions, and the doctrine of complete preemption.
3. Recognize facts patterns in which the plaintiff has successfully thwarted removal.
4. Recognize fact patterns in which the defendant has successfully defeated the plaintiff's forum choice.