Case Removed to Federal Court Sent Back to State Court

In the case of Mason v. Sams Club, No. 2:25-CV-05038-JHS (E.D. Pa. April 27, 2026 Slomsky, J.), the federal court remanded a slip and fall case back to state court after finding that the Defendant had prematurely removed the case to federal court.

The court noted that, under federal law, a Defendant may only remove a case when the Defendant receives a document that puts the Defendant on notice that the case is removal because the $75,000.00 jurisdiction threshold is met. Moreover, under the Rules, once the Defendant receives a document that puts the Defendant on notice that the case is removable, a case must be removed within thirty (30) days of receiving that document.

Here, the Defendant removed the case after receiving emails from the Plaintiff’s counsel that the Plaintiff was going to undergo wrist surgery as a result of the injuries.

The Plaintiff argued that the case should be remanded back to state court, claiming that the Notice of Removal was filed prematurely because the Defendant did not have notice that the amount in controversy exceeded $75,000.00.

The court agreed, finding that the Defendant did not provide sufficiently specific information to confirm to the court that the amount in controversy exceeded $75,000.00. Here, there was a lack of any information regarding costs, total damages, or a settlement demand, any of which could have put the Defendant on notice that the jurisdictional threshold have been met.

The court noted that, with the Defendants bearing the burden of proving that the removal was proper, the Defendant’s failure to explain how a wrist surgery alone would necessarily surpass the jurisdictional threshold left to much ambiguity.

Anyone wishing to review a copy of this decision may click this LINK.  The Court's companion Order can be viewed HERE


Source: Article – “Sams Club Slip-In-Fall Slides Back To State Court Due To Premature Removal Notice,” By Riley Brennnan of The Legal Intelligencer (May 4, 2026).

Source of image:  Photo by Jim Wilson on www.unsplash.com.