The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently addressed so-called
"Snap Removals" in the case of In re Levy, 52
F.4th 244, 245 (5th Cir. 2022). In Levy, the plaintiff,
Calvin Levy, petitioned the Fifth Circuit for a writ of mandamus
directing the district court to remand the suit to state court for
want of jurisdiction.
The suit arose from a traffic collision. Levy is a citizen of
Louisiana, as is the driver of the other vehicle, defendant Emile
Dumesnil. At the time of removal by diverse defendant Zurich
American Insurance Company, neither Dumesnil nor defendant Dynamic
Energy Services International, LLC, had been served with
process.
Levy initiated the suit in Louisiana state court
against the three defendants. Zurich-the only defendant that had
received service of process-promptly removed to federal court,
asserting that removal was proper under28 U.S.C. § 1441(b)(2),
otherwise known as the "forum-defendant rule." That
statute provides that an "action otherwise
