Removal

What removal means

Put simply, removal is part of the working vocabulary of a civil case. The short definition above covers the usual meaning. Still, a specific rule, statute or contract can give it a narrower meaning. For that reason, check how it is used in your own documents.

Where removal comes up

For example, the term appears in these procedures:

• Notice of Removal (28 U.S.C. §§ 1441, 1446): the filing a defendant uses to move a case from state court to federal court when the federal court would have had original jurisdiction.
• Motion to Remand to State Court (28 U.S.C. § 1447(c)): a motion asking a federal court to send a removed case back to the state court it came from.

How to research the term

Start with the primary source. For example, if removal appears in a federal rule, read the rule itself and its official notes. After that, check your court’s local rules and any standing orders from the judge. In addition, search recent decisions from your own state or federal district. They show how courts read removal in practice. Because state rules often differ, our state procedures guide links to each state’s official rules. Above all, make sure the version you read is still in force.

You can read the official rule text online for free.

Related legal terms

• Remand: sending a case back to the court it came from — for example, from federal court back to state court.
• Relevant evidence: under Federal Rule of Evidence 401, evidence is relevant if it has any tendency to make a fact more or less probable than it would be without the evidence, and the fact is of consequence in determining the action.
• Request for admission: a discovery request asking another party to admit the truth of a specific matter.
• Request for production: a discovery request asking another party to produce documents, electronically stored information or tangible things.

Why precise terms matter

Legal words often look like everyday words, but they can carry a precise meaning. Because of that, a small misreading can change how you understand a deadline, a duty or a right. Our glossary keeps each definition short and links it to the procedures where it matters.