LII Bulletin Previews Upcoming SCOTUS Argument on Federal Officer Removal Statute

Here is a recent preview from Cornell's Legal Information Institute of an oral argument that is to take place April 25, 2007 before the Supreme Court:

JURISDICTION, FEDERAL COURTS, FEDERAL OFFICER REMOVAL,
REMAND, TOBACCO LITIGATION, CLASS ACTION

Watson v. Philip Morris Companies, Inc. (05-1284)

Oral argument: Apr. 25, 2007

Philip Morris removed a class action tobacco lawsuit from an Arkansas state court to the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas. Plaintiffs Watson and Lawson sought to remand the case to state court, but their motion was denied. The Eighth Circuit held that Philip
Morris was a corporation qualifying as a "person acting under a federal officer" and thus entitled to removal under 28 U.S.C. § 1442(a)(1). The Supreme Court takes up the question of whether parties operating in an arena of heavy federal regulation qualify under this federal officer
removal statute or, to the contrary, if the statute's origins and history preclude such interpretation.

The full preview is available at http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/cert/05-1284.html.