Piper Jaffray & Co. v. Severini
United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin
443 F. Supp. 2d 1016 (W.D. Wis. 2006)
Piper Jaffray (plaintiff), a Delaware/Minnesota financial firm, voluntarily dismissed its first federal suit against Wisconsin citizens Nina Severini and David Lehrer (defendants) and refiled in Wisconsin state court seeking a restraining order, which the state court granted conditioned on a $300,000 bond; the defendants then removed the case to federal court based on diversity jurisdiction, and Piper Jaffray moved to remand under the forum defendant rule, while also sending a letter to the federal court requesting alternative injunctive relief.
Whether a defendant may remove a case from state to federal court on diversity jurisdiction grounds if the plaintiff originally filed suit in the state where the defendant is a citizen.