Civil procedure
Removal
Removal is a defendant moving a case out of state court into federal court by filing a notice of removal.
The case has to be one the federal court could have heard originally, meaning it raises a federal question or the parties are diverse and enough money is at stake. The defendant normally has thirty days from service to remove, and every properly served defendant must join.
No permission is needed to remove; the filing itself moves the case. The plaintiff's response is a motion to remand, and if the removal was improper the case goes back, sometimes with the plaintiff's costs attached.
Removal has hard limits. A case based on diversity generally cannot be removed more than a year after it started, and a defendant sued at home in its own state cannot use diversity to remove at all.
How it appears on a docket
NOTICE OF REMOVAL from the Superior Court of California, County of Alameda, case number RG24-118203, filed by Acme Logistics, Inc. Filing fee $405.
Governing rule
28 U.S.C. Sec. 1441, 1446
Related terms
- Remand — Remand is sending a case back to the court it came from, either from federal court to state court or from an appellate court to the trial court.
- Diversity Jurisdiction — Diversity jurisdiction lets a federal court hear a state-law case because the opposing parties are citizens of different states and more than $75,000 is at stake.
More on civil procedure
See this term in a real case
Search federal court records and read the filings where removal actually shows up. New to federal dockets? Start with how to find a federal case.