Dawne Baddie Patricia L. Smith v. Berkeley Farms, Inc. Doug Sheehan Gilbert Rodriguez, Beverly Bazemore

OVERVIEW

This ease considers whether 28 U.S.C. § 1447 (c) authorized the district court to award defendants their fees incurred between removal and remand, where both removal and the subsequent remand were proper.

Section 1447(e) authorizes the district court when remanding a ease to award costs and fees incurred as a result of the removal. Shortly after this action was properly removed to federal court on the basis of federal subject matter jurisdiction, plaintiffs dismissed all federal claims and secured a remand. In its order of remand, the district court found that plaintiffs’ “manipulative pleading practices” had precipitated both removal and remand, and the court awarded fees to the defendants. We hold that plaintiffs’ decision to plead both state and federal claims in state court and to dismiss the federal claims after removal was not conduct for which section 1447(e) authorizes the award of fees. Consequently, we reverse the fee award.

BACKGROUND

On May 26, 1993, plaintiffs Dawne Baddie, Patricia Smith, and Mary Schwartz filed an employment discrimination action in state court. One of plaintiffs’ claims alleged that union defendants had breached their duty of fair…