The First Circuit Clarifies That A Defendant’s Deadline to Remove is Principally Influenced by the Actions of the Plaintiff

By: Robert W. Sparkes, III, Brian M. Forbes

The first questions any defendant served with a complaint filed in state court should consider are whether removal of the action to federal court is preferable and, assuming the action is removable, when must a notice of removal be filed. The “when” question continues to be a source of debate as federal courts across the country grapple with issues pertaining to (1) the triggering of the removal clocks under federal law and (2) the duty of a defendant to investigate the removability of an action. Joining other federal circuit courts of appeal to have addressed these issues, on October 24, 2014, the First Circuit Court of Appeals provided its answers in Romulus v. CVS Pharmacy, Inc. And, it may come as a surprise to some, the answers are largely dependent on the actions taken by the plaintiff.

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