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Snap Removal to Federal Court

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Snap Removal to Federal Court

October 23, 2025
Robert M. Hanlon Jr.

(Editor’s Note — Back in September 2021, I wrote an article found HERE titled “Personal Jurisdiction: Does the International Shoe Still Fit?” In it, I included a reminder not only to evaluate personal jurisdiction but also to consider whether a state court case can be removed to federal court. As a follow-up to that, I offer below a reminder to consider the procedural technique known as “snap removal,” which may allow you to remove a case to federal court even if there is a home-state defendant.)

When evaluating a new state court case, it is important to immediately consider whether it can be removed to federal court, which requires both federal jurisdiction and grounds for removal. Although having a home-state defendant in the case usually precludes removal, it may not if that defendant has not yet been served.

Federal jurisdiction in most tort cases is based on diversity of citizenship under 28 U.S.C. 1322(a), which requires that the amount in controversy be more than $75,000 and that the action be “between citizens of different states.”

If there is federal jurisdiction based on diversity, a case can be removed to federal court under 28 U.S.C. 1441(b)(2) unless “any of the parties in interest properly joined and served as defendants is a citizen of the State in which such action is brought.”

Note an important distinction between those two rules. Federal diversity jurisdiction requires that all plaintiffs be from different states than all defendants, regardless of whether the defendants have been served. But the so-called “forum defendant rule” is triggered only if a defendant from the forum state has been properly joined and served.

So, what happens if there is a forum (home-state) defendant in the case, but it has not yet been served? That is where snap removal comes in.

Snap removal is not allowed in all federal circuits, but in those that do recognize it, it is a technique that allows a defendant (even a forum defendant) to remove a case to federal court before a forum defendant is served.

Consider these two examples:

  • Plaintiff (from New Jersey) sues Defendant-1 (from New Jersey) and Defendant-2 (from New York) in state court in New York. Neither defendant has been served. Can the case be removed to federal court? No. There is no complete diversity of citizenship because Plaintiff and Defendant-1 are from the same state, and for purposes of establishing federal diversity jurisdiction, it does not matter that Defendant-1 has not yet been served.
  • Plaintiff (from New Jersey) sues Defendant-1 (from Pennsylvania) and Defendant-2 (from New York) in state court in New York. Defendant-2 has not yet been served. Can the case be removed to federal court? Yes. The action is between citizens of different states, so there is federal diversity jurisdiction. There is a home-state defendant (Defendant-2 is from the forum state of New York), but it has not yet been properly joined and served. And so, the forum defendant rule of 28 U.S.C. 1441(b)(2) has not yet been triggered, and the case can be removed to federal court before the forum defendant is served because the Second Circuit (in which New York is located) recognizes snap removal.

It is important to move quickly for two reasons. First, snap removal is not an option once a forum defendant is served. Second,  28 U.S.C. 1446(b)(1) imposes a 30-day deadline for filing a notice of removal to federal court.

To evaluate whether a state court case can be removed to federal court, ask the following questions:

  1. Is the amount in controversy more than $75,000?
  2. Is there complete diversity of citizenship between the plaintiff(s) and the defendant(s)?
  3. Is there a forum (home-state) defendant?
  4. Has a forum defendant been properly joined and served?
  5. Does the applicable federal circuit allow snap removal?

I hope this reminder and my previous article about personal jurisdiction help clarify some of the important “where” questions to ask when a new case comes in.