(a) Procedure. A defendant or defendants desiring to remove any civil action
or criminal prosecution from a state court shall file a Notice of Removal, signed pursuant
to Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The notice must contain an
affirmative statement that a copy of the notice has been filed with the clerk of the state
court from which the action or prosecution has been removed. In addition to submitting
the civil cover sheet (AO Form JS-44), the removing party must also submit a
“Supplemental Civil Cover Sheet for Cases Removed from Another Jurisdiction.”
(b) State Court Record. The removing party must file copies of all pleadings
and other documents that were previously filed with the state court. The removing party
must file and identify the following separate attachments to the Notice of Removal: (1)
Supplemental Civil Cover Sheet; (2) most recent state court docket; (3) operative
complaint; (4) service documents; (5) answers; (6) state court orders terminating or
dismissing parties; (7) notices of appearance; (8) pending motions, responses, and replies;
(9) remainder of state court record; and (10) verification of the removing party or its
counsel that true and complete copies of all pleadings and other documents filed in the
state court proceeding have been filed.
(c) Timing. The removing party must file the state court record when the
Notice of Removal is filed unless the removing party files a motion for extension of time
for good cause.
(d) Pending Motions. If a motion is pending and undecided in the state court
at the time of removal, the Court need not consider the motion unless and until a party
files and serves a notice of pending motion. The notice must: (1) identify the motion by
the title that appears in its caption; (2) identify any responsive or reply memoranda filed
in connection with the motion, along with any related papers, such as separately filed
affidavits or statements of fact; and (3) state whether briefing on the motion is complete,
and, if not, it must identify the memoranda or other papers yet to be filed. The Clerk’s
Office will refile the pending motion and any responsive and reply memoranda, along
with any related papers, as of the date the notice is filed in this Court.
(e) Jury Trial Demand. In a case removed from state court, a party must
comply with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 81(c) to preserve any right to a trial by jury.
