Home Depot U.S.A. v. Jackson

Section 1441(a) does not permit removal by a third-party counterclaim defendant. Home Depot emphasizes that it is a “defendant” to a “claim,” but §1441(a) refers to “civil action[s],” not “claims.” And because the action as defined by the plaintiff’s complaint is the “civil action... of which the district cour[t]” must have “original jurisdiction,” “the defendant” to that action is the defendant to the complaint, not a party named in a counterclaim. This conclusion is bolstered by the use of the term “defendant” in related contexts. For one, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure differentiate between thirdparty defendants, counterclaim defendants, and defendants. Section 1453(b) does not permit removal by a third-party counterclaim defendant. Home Depot contends that even if §1441(a) does not permit removal here, §1453(b) does because it permits removal by “ any defendant” to a “class action.” But the two clauses in §1453(b) that employ the term “any defendant” simply clarify that certain limitations on removal that might otherwise apply do not limit removal under that provision. And neither clause—nor anything else in the statute—alters §1441(a)’s limitation on who can remove, suggesting that Congress intended to leave that limit in place. 880 F. 3d 165, affirmed.

Result

Affirmed

The Court read the general removal law as letting the defendant named in the original complaint—not a party named only in a counterclaim—move the case. It said the class-action law does not change that limit.

The class-action case remains in state court; Home Depot cannot move it to federal court under either law.