Wieters v. Bon Secours-St. Francis Xavier Hospital, Inc.

Justice PLEICONES.

I concur but write separately as I would find no sanctionable conduct here.10 I agree with Justice Hearn that these appellants had a good faith basis for removing this case in March 2010. I disagree with both the majority and with Justice Hearn, however, that it was appellants’ burden to take further action after receiving Dr. Wieters’ February 8 “Memo in Opposition to the Motion for Summary Judgment.” Moreover, having received opinions on March 2 from three attorneys and a law professor that the new assertions in Dr. Weiters’ Pre-Trial Brief, filed at 11:48 pm on March 1, rendered the case removable, appellants timely filed this removal motion at 1:07 pm on March 2. In my opinion, the delay occasioned by this request for removal, while inconvenient, is no more than that attendant to any such removal, and therefore I find no evidence it was interposed for delay.

I concur in the majority’s decision to reverse all sanctions challenged in this appeal.

. In light of this, I would leave for another day the authority of a circuit judge to impose a state sanction for removal where the federal court chose not to impose one under 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c) (1996).