Two District Courts Focus on “Gamesmanship” in a Double Dose of Rejection for Snap Removal

In two recent decisions out of the District of Maryland and the Western District of Washington, both courts emphasized “gamesmanship” as a reason for rejecting the practice of snap removal in each jurisdiction. Interestingly, though, one district focused on gamesmanship by plaintiffs while the other district focused on gamesmanship by defendants.

The District of Maryland, already a split district on the issue of snap removal, rejected the practice in Sommer v. BMW of North America, LLC, 2021 WL 1890651 (D. Md. May 11, 2021) with a thorough discussion of the principles underlying the forum defendant rule. The Court also distinguished its holding from a previous District of Maryland decision (Robertson v. Iuliano, 2011 WL 453618, at *3 (D. Md. Feb. 4, 2011)), which upheld the practice of snap removal in 2011.