State or Federal

When a lawsuit is brought, it is the plaintiff who has the initial choice of where to file it. However, under certain circumstances, a defendant may be able to take that choice away from the plaintiff. One such circumstance is removal from a state court to a federal court. In a nutshell, a defendant can remove a state court lawsuit to the federal court where the state court is located when the lawsuit concerns “federal questions” or when there exists “diversity of citizenship” among the parties. There are strict deadlines and rules that govern removal to federal court, and the tactic does not apply to all cases. But for those cases where it applies, the defendant has a strategic choice to make.