Service Of Suit And Removal

It is very common in insurance and reinsurance litigation for one party to seek to remove a case first brought in state court to the federal court sitting in that venue. The reasons for this are myriad and often the stuff of myth and legend. Some believe only federal courts are capable of adjudicating complex commercial disputes and consider insurance and reinsurance disputes to be complex disputes warranting the attention only of a federal judge. Others use removal for tactical reasons. But can the terms of an insurance or reinsurance contract preclude a party from removing a case from state court to federal court?

Removal is relatively easy as long as there is federal jurisdiction. Most often the jurisdictional issue is resolved by a showing of diversity of citizenship as opposed to direct federal question jurisdiction. Regardless, without federal jurisdiction, removal will be unsuccessful. Federal jurisdiction has to be there; it cannot be agreed by the parties.