Federal Removal from State Court Checklist

State Court: [________________________________]

State Court Case Number: [________________________________]

Federal Court: United States District Court for the [________________________________]

Federal Case Number: [________________________________] (assigned after filing)

Case Caption: [________________________________] v. [________________________________]

Removing Defendant(s): [________________________________]

Filing Attorney: [________________________________]

Date Prepared: [__/__/____]

I. Removal Jurisdiction Analysis

Basis for Federal Jurisdiction

☐ Federal Question Jurisdiction (28 U.S.C. § 1331)
☐ Claim arises under Constitution, laws, or treaties of U.S.
☐ Federal question appears on face of complaint
☐ Well-pleaded complaint rule satisfied
☐ Federal law: [________________________________]

☐ Diversity Jurisdiction (28 U.S.C. § 1332)
☐ Complete diversity of citizenship
☐ Amount in controversy exceeds $75,000
☐ Citizenship of all parties documented
☐ Forum Defendant Rule: No defendant is citizen of state where action filed
☐ Rule satisfied, OR
☐ "Snap removal" - defendant not yet properly served

☐ Other Removal Basis:
☐ Federal officer removal (28 U.S.C. § 1442)
☐ Civil rights case (28 U.S.C. § 1443)
☐ Class Action Fairness Act (28 U.S.C. § 1453)
☐ Bankruptcy (28 U.S.C. § 1452)
☐ Other: [________________________________]

II. Citizenship Analysis (For Diversity Cases)

Plaintiff(s) Citizenship

Defendant(s) Citizenship

Citizenship Determination Rules

☐ Individuals: Domicile (residence + intent to remain)
☐ Corporations: State of incorporation AND principal place of business
☐ LLCs/Partnerships: Citizenship of ALL members
☐ Unincorporated Associations: Citizenship of all members

Complete Diversity Verified

☐ No plaintiff shares citizenship with any defendant

III. Amount in Controversy (For Diversity Cases)

☐ Complaint alleges specific amount over $75,000
☐ Complaint does not specify amount - good faith estimate supports jurisdiction
☐ Aggregation rules applied correctly
☐ Punitive damages included (if recoverable)
☐ Attorney's fees included (if recoverable by statute/contract)
☐ Interest included (if part of claim, not post-judgment)
☐ Value of injunctive relief calculated (if applicable)

Amount in Controversy: $[________________________________]

IV. Deadline Calculation (28 U.S.C. § 1446(b))

30-Day Deadline Trigger

First Trigger - Initial Pleading:
☐ Date defendant received initial pleading: [__/__/____]
☐ Method of service: [________________________________]
☐ 30-day deadline: [__/__/____]

Second Trigger - "Other Paper" (if not initially removable):
☐ Date defendant received other paper indicating removability: [__/__/____]
☐ Nature of paper: [________________________________]
☐ 30-day deadline from other paper: [__/__/____]

Consent Deadline for Multiple Defendants

☐ Later-served defendants have 30 days from their receipt to file or consent
☐ First-served defendant date: [__/__/____]
☐ Last-served defendant date: [__/__/____]
☐ All defendants must join or consent

One-Year Limit (Diversity Cases Only)

☐ Case filed in state court: [__/__/____]
☐ One-year deadline: [__/__/____]
☐ Exception: Bad faith plaintiff conduct to prevent removal

V. Consent of All Defendants (28 U.S.C. § 1446(b)(2))

Unanimity Requirement

☐ All properly joined and served defendants must consent
☐ Consent documented in notice of removal OR
☐ Each defendant files timely written consent

Defendant Consent Status

Exceptions to Unanimity

☐ Defendant fraudulently joined (no consent needed)
☐ Nominal party (no consent needed)
☐ Unserved defendant (no consent needed until served)

VI. Notice of Removal - Required Contents

Required Elements (28 U.S.C. § 1446(a))

☐ Short and plain statement of grounds for removal
☐ Signed pursuant to FRCP 11
☐ Filed with federal district court

Content Checklist

☐ Caption with state court and federal court information
☐ State court case number
☐ Statement of grounds for federal jurisdiction
☐ Statement of amount in controversy (diversity)
☐ Citizenship allegations for all parties (diversity)
☐ Statement of federal question (if applicable)
☐ Timeliness statement (date of service/receipt)
☐ Statement of consent by all defendants
☐ Verification that case is within proper district

Attachments (28 U.S.C. § 1446(a))

☐ Copies of all process, pleadings, and orders served on defendant
☐ State court complaint
☐ Summons
☐ State court orders (if any)
☐ Other relevant state court documents

VII. Filing Requirements

Federal Court Filing

☐ Notice of Removal filed with federal district court
☐ Filing fee: $405.00 (as of 2024; verify current)
☐ Civil Cover Sheet (JS-44) filed
☐ Corporate Disclosure Statement (if applicable)

State Court Notice (28 U.S.C. § 1446(d))

☐ Written notice to state court promptly filed
☐ Copy of Notice of Removal provided to state court
☐ State court case stayed upon removal

Service on Adverse Parties (28 U.S.C. § 1446(d))

☐ All adverse parties served promptly
☐ Copy of Notice of Removal provided
☐ Proof of service filed

VIII. Post-Removal Procedures

Federal Court Actions

☐ Federal case number assigned: [________________________________]
☐ Assigned judge: [________________________________]
☐ Scheduling conference date: [__/__/____]
☐ Initial disclosures deadline noted

State Court Effect

☐ State court proceedings stayed
☐ State court cannot take further action while removed
☐ If remanded, state court proceedings resume

IX. Remand Considerations

Potential Grounds for Remand (28 U.S.C. § 1447)

☐ Lack of subject matter jurisdiction
☐ Defect in removal procedure
☐ Forum defendant improperly removed (diversity)
☐ Removal untimely
☐ Lack of consent by all defendants

Remand Deadlines

☐ Motion to remand for procedural defect: 30 days from removal
☐ Motion to remand for lack of jurisdiction: Any time
☐ Court may remand sua sponte for jurisdiction defects

Prepare for Opposition to Remand Motion

☐ Jurisdiction firmly established
☐ Timeliness documented
☐ Consent documented
☐ Procedural requirements satisfied

X. Special Removal Situations

Class Action Removal (CAFA - 28 U.S.C. § 1453)

☐ Class action under FRCP 23
☐ 100+ class members
☐ Minimal diversity (at least one plaintiff and one defendant diverse)
☐ Amount in controversy exceeds $5 million aggregate
☐ No forum defendant rule applies
☐ No one-year limit applies

Federal Officer Removal (28 U.S.C. § 1442)

☐ Federal officer or agency sued
☐ Action relates to official duties
☐ Colorable federal defense exists
☐ No forum defendant rule applies
☐ 30-day deadline applies

Mass Action Removal

☐ 100+ plaintiffs propose joint trial
☐ Amount in controversy exceeds $75,000 per plaintiff
☐ Aggregate exceeds $5 million

XI. Document Checklist

Documents to File in Federal Court

☐ Notice of Removal
☐ Civil Cover Sheet (JS-44)
☐ Corporate Disclosure Statement (FRCP 7.1)
☐ Copy of state court complaint
☐ Copy of summons
☐ Copies of all state court orders
☐ All other state court pleadings and papers

Documents to File in State Court

☐ Notice of Filing Notice of Removal
☐ Copy of Notice of Removal

Documents to Serve on Adverse Parties

☐ Copy of Notice of Removal
☐ Certificate of Service

XII. Quality Control

Before Filing - Final Review

☐ Jurisdiction clearly established
☐ All deadlines verified
☐ All defendants have consented
☐ All required documents attached
☐ Filing fee arranged
☐ State court notice prepared
☐ Service copies prepared

Common Errors to Avoid

☐ Missing 30-day deadline
☐ Missing defendant consent
☐ Forum defendant removal in diversity case (when defendant served)
☐ Incomplete jurisdictional allegations
☐ Missing state court documents
☐ Failing to notify state court promptly
☐ Failing to serve adverse parties

XIII. Document Tracking Log

XIV. Key Deadlines Summary

Sources and References

• 28 U.S.C. § 1441-1455: https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?path=/prelim@title28/part4/chapter89&edition=prelim
• Cornell Law - Removal Jurisdiction: https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/removal_jurisdiction
• Constitution Annotated - Removal: https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artIII-S2-C1-11-5/

Prepared by: [________________________________]

Date: [__/__/____]

Supervising Attorney (if applicable): [________________________________]