Great American Insurance Company v. Simpson

Background

Jeffrey Simpson, proceeding without a lawyer, filed a notice seeking to remove an interpleader action from the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York, to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Great American Insurance Company, the interpleader plaintiff, moved to remand the case to state court. Arch Real Estate Holdings, LLC joined that motion and opposed removal. The remaining defendants were Offit Kurman and Jared Chassen.

Reasoning

The court explained that federal law requires all defendants who have been properly joined and served to join in or consent to removal, and that each defendant must independently express consent. The court found that none of the other defendants had provided notice of consent to removal. Because Arch Real Estate Holdings opposed removal, the statutory requirements were not satisfied. The court stated that it had no discretion in those circumstances and no authority to address Simpson’s requests for relief.

Ruling

The court ordered that the case be remanded to the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York. The clerk was directed to mail Simpson a copy of the order, terminate all pending motions, and remand and close the federal case.