Barbour v. International Union

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As promised, here is a write up on the Fourth Circuit’s recent opinion in Barbour v. International Union. I can’t take credit for this one. It’s a guest post submitted a reader, who would prefer to remain anonymous. Can’t say I blame him/her–heck, I wouldn’t want to be associated with this blog, either:

For Civ Pro enthusiasts, last month saw the Fourth Circuit issue a rare en banc opinion controlling how cases are removed from state to federal court when multiple defendants are served at different times. The decision reversed a prior panel’s decision last year that rejected the McKinney Intermediate Rule in favor of the last-served defendant rule, discussed below.

You might think such a procedure would be controlled by statute. After all, 28 U.S.C. 1441(a) provides that “the defendant or the defendants” can remove a case.

But Congress, in its infinite wisdom, wrote 28 U.S.C. 1446(b), which sets forth the procedure for doing so, to  address removal only when there is one defendant, not more. That section reads:

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.

You can see the problem here. With one defendant, it’s straightforward. But what if there are two, three or more defendants?Continue Reading Barbour Redux: Fourth Circuit Resolves Removal in Multiple-Defendant Cases (Again)

Civil procedure nerds and defense counsel, rejoice! (I am looking at you, Travis.) In Barbour v. International Union, a fun–if dense–opinion handed down on Thursday, the Fourth Circuit adopts the “last-served defendant” rule for removal. Or in geekspeak, it takes a district court up on its invitation “to clarify whether the ‘first-filed’ ‘dictum’ in McKinney v. Bd. of Tr. of Mayland Cmty. Coll., 955 F.2d 924 (4th Cir. 1992), means what it actually seems to say.”

Short answer: it doesn’t. But before we get there, the Fourth Circuit walks us through some removal case law, considers the extent to which earlier panel decisions are binding, and honors the nerdly virtues of close reading and careful research.

A quick refresher, for those of us who slept through civ pro: under 28 U.S.C. 1446, a defendant has 30 days in which to file a notice of removal. But what if  there are multiple defendants, and they are served more than 30 days apart? That’s what happened to the defendant unions in Barbour. All three defendants filed a joint notice of removal. They filed it more than 30 days after the first defendant was served, but less than thirty days after the second defendant was served, and before the third defendant was even brought into the case. Was the notice of removal timely?

Turns out there’s a Circuit split on that point. The Fifth Circuit applies a “first-served defendant” rule: in cases involving more than one defendant, the thirty days starts running when the first defendant is served. The Fifth Circuit reasons that, since all served defendants must join in the removal petition, the failure of the first defendant to remove within 30 days defeats removal altogether.

The Sixth, Eighth, and Eleventh Circuits, by contrast, apply a “last-served defendant” rule. Those jurisdictions give each defendant 30 days in which to file a notice of removal.

By all appearances, the Fourth Circuit had found a middle ground. Footnote 3 in the McKinney opinion states that, if the first-served defendant does not petition for removal within 30 days of service, the case may not be removed. But if the first-served defendant does petition for removal within 30 days, a later-served defendant may join in the petition or move for remand.Continue Reading Fourth Circuit Adopts Last-Served Defendant Rule; Plaintiffs Despair