GE Betz, Inc. v. Zee Company, Inc.

Dist. Ct. erred in denying plaintiff’s objection to removal of citation to discover assets proceeding that had been filed in Illinois circuit court against third-party respondent and defendant, after plaintiff obtained N. Carolina judgment against defendant, and after defendant had transferred its assets to third-party respondent prior to entry of N. Carolina judgment. Instant removal by defendant violated forum-defendant rule under section 1441(b)(2) where third-party respondent had its principal place of business in Illinois, and thus Dist. Ct. should have remanded action back to circuit court. Ct. rejected defendant’s claim that forum-rule did not apply since respondent in citation proceeding was not “defendant” for purposes of said rule, and fact that party removing case was not forum-defendant did not require different result. Ct. also rejected defendant’s and respondent’s argument that remand was unnecessary where Dist. Ct. proceeded to final determination of case on merits.