Miller v. C.R. Bard, Inc.

Summary

The United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio granted Plaintiff Paul Miller’s motion to remand a products-liability action removed from New Jersey state court. The court held that removal by C.R. Bard, a New Jersey forum defendant, was improper under the forum defendant rule because permitting snap removal would be inconsistent with congressional intent.

Holdings

1. A forum defendant may not remove this diversity action before service merely because the defendant had not yet been 'properly joined and served.' Bard's snap removal was improper, and the case had to be remanded.

Questions Presented

1. Whether an unserved forum defendant may remove a diversity action under the 'properly joined and served' language of 28 U.S.C. § 1441(b)(2).
2. Whether Bard's pre-service removal, or 'snap removal,' was improper because it would defeat the congressional purpose underlying the forum defendant rule.

Disposition

remanded