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Class Action – General Removal

By: Derek Hawkins//June 26, 2019//

Class Action – General Removal

By: Derek Hawkins//June 26, 2019//

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United States Supreme Court

Case Name: Home Depot U.S.A., Inc. v. George W. Jackson

Case No.: 17-1471

Focus: Class Action – General Removal

The general removal statute, 28 U. S. C. §1441(a), provides that “any civil action” over which a federal court would have original jurisdiction may be removed to federal court by “the defendant or the defendants.” The Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 (CAFA) provides that “[a] class action” may be removed to federal court by “any defendant without the consent of all defendants.” 28 U. S. C. §1453(b). In this case, we address whether either provision allows a third-party counterclaim defendant— that is, a party brought into a lawsuit through a counterclaim filed by the original defendant—to remove the counterclaim filed against it. Because in the context of these removal provisions the term “defendant” refers only to the party sued by the original plaintiff, we conclude that neither provision allows such a third party to remove.

Affirmed

Dissenting: ALITO, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which ROBERTS, C. J., and GORSUCH and KAVANAUGH, JJ., joined.

Concurring:

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Derek A Hawkins is trademark corporate counsel for Harley-Davidson. Hawkins oversees the prosecution and maintenance of the Harley-Davidson’s international trademark portfolio in emerging markets.

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