Background
The Bank of New York Mellon initiated foreclosure proceedings in Florida state court in August two thousand sixteen. Peter Ferenc Gedeon, proceeding pro se, removed the case to federal district court in April two thousand twenty-five, years after the state action began. The district court remanded the case to state court and denied Gedeon’s motion to stop his eviction.
The court’s reasoning
The court reviewed the removal jurisdiction de novo and construed Gedeon’s pro se pleadings liberally. The court noted that while defendants may remove cases involving civil rights under Section fourteen hundred forty-three of Title twenty-eight, they must generally file the notice of removal within thirty days of service under Section fourteen hundred forty-six of Title twenty-eight. The court found that Gedeon filed his notice of removal in two thousand twenty-five, years after the state proceedings were initiated. Gedeon argued that Section three of the Civil Rights Act of eighteen sixty-six applied, but the court explained that this section is currently embodied in Section fourteen hundred forty-three of Title twenty-eight, meaning the thirty-day limit still applies. The court concluded that Gedeon cited no amended pleading or other paper that would restart the thirty-day clock, and his removal was therefore untimely.
What it means going forward
This decision reinforces the strict thirty-day deadline for removing civil rights cases to federal court, preventing defendants from delaying removal until years after state proceedings have commenced.