On December 7, 2011, President Obama signed into law the first significant changes to the general (i.e., non-CAFA) federal diversity jurisdiction, removal, and venue statutes since the Judicial Improvements Act of 1990. The new law, the Federal Courts Jurisdiction and Venue Clarification Act of 2011 (“JVCA”), P.L 112-63, which took effect on January 6, 2012, will affect nearly every new case filed in or removed to federal court under traditional diversity jurisdiction. A detailed explanation of the statute can be found in the House Judiciary Committee Report, available here.

One of the more important provisions of this law addresses the longstanding conflict over the timing of removal in multi-defendant cases. Under the JVCA, each defendant has 30 days from its own date of service to remove, regardless of when other co-defendants may have been served. If an earlier served defendant misses its deadline for removal, it may still consent to a timely removal by a later served defendant. The JVCA also codifies the U.S. Supreme Court’s “rule of unanimity,” which requires that all defendants properly joined and served must join in or consent to removal.

Please see full alert below for more information.