The opinion
Brown v . Keene, N H , et a l . CV-04-306-SM 11/30/04
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
Margaret Brown
and Melissa Brown,
Plaintiffs
v. Civil N o . 04-306-SM
Opinion N o . 2004 DNH 173
City of Keene; Keene Police
Department; Officer Darryl
Madden; Trooper Joseph
DiRusso; and Richard Flynn,
Director Department of Safety,
Defendants
O R D E R
Margaret and Melissa Brown sued the City of Keene, the Keene
Police Department, and Officer Darryl Madden (“the Keene
defendants”), as well as Trooper Joseph DiRusso and Richard
Flynn, Director of the New Hampshire Department of Safety (“the
State defendants”) in the New Hampshire Superior Court. Because
plaintiffs’ claims implicate federal subject matter jurisdiction,
the Keene defendants removed the case to this court.
The Keene defendants served the State defendants with a copy
of their petition for removal, but did not obtain the State
defendants’ consent to remove the case. See Mem. of Law in
Support of Mot. to Dismiss (attachment n o . 1 to document n o . 4 )
at 4 . Indeed, the State defendants mildly complain that they
were not consulted by the Keene defendants before the case was
removed.
It is well established that “removal statutes are strictly
construed” against removal. Danca v . Private Health Care Sys.,
Inc., 185 F.3d 1 , 4 (1st Cir. 1999) (citing Shamrock Oil & Gas
Corp. v . Sheets, 313 U.S. 1 0 0 , 108-09 (1941)). “Where there are
multiple defendants, all must consent or join in the petition for
removal.” Hill v . Phillips, Barratt, Kaiser Eng’g Ltd, 586 F.
Supp. 9 4 4 , 945 (D.N.H. 1984) (citations omitted). Here, removal
was plainly improper given the absence of prior consent by the
State defendants. The time period in which the State defendants
could properly join in the removal petition has long since
passed. See 28 U.S.C. § 1446(b). Accordingly, this case is
remanded to the New Hampshire Superior Court on grounds of
improper removal. The State defendants’ pending motion to
dismiss (document n o . 5 ) is moot given the order of remand.
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SO ORDERED.
Steven J. McAuliffe
United States District Judge
November 3 0 , 2004
cc: Kathleen M . Mulcahey-Hampson, Esq.
Donald E . Gardner, Esq.
Nancy J. Smith, Esq.
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