CONGRESSIONAL RECORD— Extensions Of
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March 10, 2017 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E313 INNOCENT PARTY PROTECTION case is before the court solely on diversity Regardless of whether the case is re- ACT grounds. manded to state court or stays in federal Specifically, it changes the test for showing court, this new, mandated inquiry will be a SPEECH OF improper joinder from a one-part test, (no pos- drain on the limited resources of federal HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE sibility of a claim against a nondiverse defend- courts. ant) to a complicated four-part test, requiring By mandating a full merits-inquiry on a pro- OF TEXAS the court to find fraudulent joinder if: cedural motion, H.R. 725 is expensive, time- IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 1) There is not a plausible claim for relief consuming, and wasteful use of judicial re- Thursday, March 9, 2017 against each nondiverse defendant; sources. The House in Committee of the Whole 2) There is objective evidence that clearly The bill would result in needless micro- House on the state of the Union had under demonstrates no good faith intention to pros- management of federal courts and a waste of consideration the bill (H.R. 725) to amend ecute the action against each defendant or in- judicial resources. title 28, United States Code, to prevent tention to seek a joint judgment; Lastly, by seeking to favor federal courts fraudulent joinder: 3) There is federal or state law that clearly over state courts as forums for deciding state Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. chair, I rise in bars claims against the nondiverse defend- law claims, this bill offends the principles of strong opposition to H.R. 725, the Innocent ants; or federalism. Party Protection Act of 2017. 4) There is actual fraud in the pleading of While it purports to fix a non-existent prob- H.R. 725 is the latest Republican effort to jurisdictional facts. lem, it creates problems itself. deny plaintiffs access to the forum of their What should be a simple procedural ques- The ability of state courts to function inde- choice and, possibly, to their day in court. tion for the courts, now becomes a protracted pendently of federal courts’ procedural anal- H.R. 725 seeks to overturn longstanding mini-trial, giving an unfair advantage to the de- ysis is a necessary function of the success of precedent in favor of a vague and unneces- fendants (not available under current law) by the American judiciary branch. sary test that forces state cases into federal allowing defendants to engage the court on For these reasons, I urge my colleagues to court when they do not belong there, and the merits of their position. join me in opposing the underlying legislation, gives large corporate defendants an unfair ad- By requiring litigation on the merits at a nas- H.R. 725, the dubiously named, Innocent vantage to cherry-pick their forum without the cent jurisdictional stage of litigation based on Party Protection Act of 2017. normal burden of proving proper jurisdiction. vague, undefined, and subjective standards f This bill would upend long established law like plausibility and good faith intention, and by HAPPY 100TH BIRTHDAY TO LTC in the area of federal court jurisicliction, spe- potentially placing the burden of proof on the JAMES MEGELLAS, U.S. ARMY cifically addressing the supposed overuse of plaintiff, this bill will increase the complexity (RET.) fraudulent joinder to defeat complete diversity and costs surrounding litigation of state law jurisdiction in a case. claims in federal court and potentially dis- HON. KENNY MARCHANT It was previously known as the Fraudulent suade plaintiffs from pursuing otherwise meri- OF TEXAS Joinder Prevention Act; however, this bill is torious claims. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES not about fraud. Further, taking away a defendant’s responsi- It is a corporate forum-shopping bill that bility to prove that federal jurisdiction over a Friday, March 10, 2017 would allow corporations to move cases prop- state case is indeed proper alters the funda- Mr. MARCHANT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today erly brought in state courts into federal courts. mental precept that a party seeking removal with the great honor and privilege of recog- If enacted this bill would tip the scales of should bear the heavy burden of establishing nizing a true American Hero, Lieutenant Colo- justice in favor of corporate defendants and federal court jurisdiction. nel (LTC) James Megellas of Colleyville, make it more difficult for injured plaintiffs to The bill is a win-win for corporate defend- Texas, in celebration of his 100th birthday. bring their state claims in state court. ants. Lieutenant Colonel James Megellas re- Corporate defendants support this bill be- At its most harmful, it will cause non diverse ceived his military commission on May 28th, cause they prefer to litigate in federal court, defendants to be improperly dismissed from 1942 as he walked the stage at his graduation which usually results in less diverse jurors, the lawsuit. from Ripon College in Ripon, Wisconsin. Si- more expensive proceedings, longer wait At its least harmful, it will cause an expen- multaneously receiving his diploma and mili- times for trials, and stricter limits on discovery. sive, time-consuming detour through federal tary orders, James became a newly commis- For plaintiffs, who are supposed to be able courts for plaintiffs. sioned officer in the United States Army. Since to choose their forums, this legislation would Wrongdoers would not be held accountable receiving his commission on that fateful day, result in additional time, expense, and incon- for the harm they cause, while the taxpayers LTC Megellas’ incredible courage and selfless venience for the plaintiff and witnesses. ultimately foot the bill. dedication to his country enabled him to be- H.R. 725 would effectively eliminate the For example: large corporate defendants come the most decorated officer in the history local defendant exception to diversity jurisdic- (i.e. typically the diverse defendants) would be of the 82nd Airborne Division. His exemplary tion under 28 U.S.C. 1441(b)(2), which cur- favored by the bill because, if the nondiverse service to our nation and outstanding bravery rently prohibits removal to federal court even defendant is dismissed from the case, they during the Second World War helped to lib- when there is complete diversity when a de- can blame the now-absent in-state defendant erate a continent and defend the freedom of fendant is a citizen of the state in which the for the plaintiff’s injuries. millions of civilians in the European Theater. action is brought. Smaller nondiverse defendants would also LTC Megellas reported for duty at Fort The current standard used by courts to de- be favored because the diverse defendant Knox, Kentucky on June 8, 1942 and began termine whether the joinder of a non-diverse does all the work for them. preparing to enter the war. Soon thereafter, he defendant is improper, however, has been in The diverse defendant removes the case to was selected to become a paratrooper within place for a century, and no evidence has been federal court and then argues that the non- the 82nd Airborne Division where he served put forth demonstrating that this standard is diverse defendant is improperly joined. for the duration of the war on the front lines not working. If the federal court retains jurisdiction, the of the European Theater. His experiences dur- Rather, the Fraudulent Joinder Doctrine, is a nondiverse defendant must be dismissed from ing the war brought him to Anzio, Italy where well-established legal doctrine providing that: the case. he fought in the Battle of Anzio; The Nether- fraudulent joinder will only be found if the de- If one or more defendants are dismissed lands for Operation Market Garden and the fendant establishes that the joinder of the di- from the case, it is easy for the remaining de- Battle of Nijmegen where he crossed the Waal versity-destroying party in the state court ac- fendant to finger point and blame the absent River; and in Belgium where he fought in the tion was made without a reasonable basis of defendant for the plaintiff’s injuries. Battle of the Bulge. proving any liability against that party. Even if a federal court remands the case to For his service during Operation Market There is no evidence that federal courts are state court under the bill, the defendants have Garden, LTC Megellas was the first American not already properly handling allegations of successfully forced the plaintiff to expend their awarded the Military Order of Wilhelm, the old- so-called fraudulent joinder after removal limited resources on a baseless, time-con- est and highest honor awarded by the King- under current laws. suming motion on a preliminary matter. dom of the Netherlands. Furthermore, LTC H.R. 725 reverses this longstanding policy While large corporate defendants can easily Megellas was awarded the Belgium by imposing new requirements on federal accommodate such costs, plaintiffs (i.e. injured Fouragere, by the Kingdom of Belgium for his courts considering remand motions where a consumers, patients and workers) cannot. bravery in defense of the Kingdom. 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