You are a paralegal employed by a civil litigation attorney practicing in Illinois. Your employer wants to remove a recently filed case from state court to federal court. Your employer asks you to check the statutes and procedural rules and let him know whether the case can be removed. The case is a civil rights case involving 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and other claims. From reviewing the removal statute, you learn that a defendant may remove a state-court case to federal court if federal subject matter jurisdiction exists. You remember from your paralegal training that the two main forms of federal subject matter jurisdiction are diversity jurisdiction and federal question jurisdiction. In this case, both the plaintiff and the defendant are citizens of the state of Illinois. What other information do you need to determine whether the case can be removed?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Whether your employer represents the plaintiff or the defendant. The rule given in the question is that a defendant (and only a defendant) can remove a case to federal court if federal subject matter jurisdiction exists. In addition, the test-taker is told that federal subject matter jurisdiction will exist if the court has either diversity jurisdiction or federal question jurisdiction. Federal question jurisdiction exists because the case involves a federal statute (42 U.S.C. § 1983). However, the question does not state whether the paralegal's employer represents the plaintiff or the defendant. Thus, Answer D is the correct choice. Answer A is not correct because any state law claims will be removed along with the federal claims. Answer B is not correct because federal question jurisdiction is based on a federal law (and because diversity jurisdiction refers to state citizenship of the parties, not members of a protected class). Answer C is not correct because it does not directly address the question of removal.

You Are a Paralegal Employed by a Civil Litigation Attorney