Remand Standards

Palmquist v. Hain Celestial Group, Inc. provides helpful summaries of two important standards for evaluating motions to remand:

1. Repleading. “[A] plaintiff should not be penalized for adhering to the pleading standards of the jurisdiction in which the case was originally brought. Otherwise, where there are potentially diverse parties, plaintiffs would essentially have to plead the federal pleading standard in state court for fear of having their claims against non-diverse parties thrown out upon reaching federal courts for failing to comply with the demands of Rule 12(b)(6).”
2. New Matters in Repleading. “[A]dding new causes of actions and clarifying already alleged causes of actions are not mutually exclusive. We have already determined that the Palmquists may not expand the substance of their pleadings, for jurisdictional purposes, with the negligent-undertaking allegations. We, too, follow circuit precedent by permitting them to ‘clarify’ their already averred jurisdictional allegations after removal for purposes of an improper joinder analysis.”

No. 23-40197 (May 28, 2024).