Halowell v. Armstrong International, Inc.

Background

The plaintiffs filed the complaint in Alameda County Superior Court. Defendant Crosby Valve, LLC removed the case to federal court under 28 U.S.C. § 1442(a)(1), the Federal Officer Removal Statute. That statute permits removal when a defendant shows that it is a qualifying person, that its conduct was connected to directions from a federal officer, and that it has a “colorable” federal defense—a defense that is plausible enough to support federal jurisdiction.

Crosby initially claimed that it had acted under the direction of the United States Navy in designing, manufacturing, and selling the valves involved in the plaintiffs’ allegations. Less than two weeks after removal, however, Crosby withdrew its assertion of the federal-officer defense and stated that it would no longer assert that defense in the case. The plaintiffs and Crosby then sought remand. Flowserve US, Inc. objected, but the court stated that a single defendant may remove under the Federal Officer Removal Statute without the consent of the other defendants.

Remand

The court held that remand was appropriate under 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c) because the Federal Officer Removal Statute requires the removing defendant to assert a colorable federal defense, and Crosby had disavowed and withdrawn its defense. The court therefore ordered the case remanded to Alameda County Superior Court.

Attorney’s fees

The plaintiffs also requested attorney’s fees from Flowserve under § 1447(c). The court denied that request. It found that the post-removal actions by the plaintiffs and Crosby led directly to the prolonged proceedings, and it noted that Flowserve had not joined the initial removal.

Disposition

The court ordered the case remanded to Alameda County Superior Court, denied the plaintiffs’ ex parte application for attorney’s fees, directed the clerk to terminate all pending motions, and ordered the federal file closed.