The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the 30-day deadline for removing cases to federal court under 28 U.S.C. §1446(b)(1) is mandatory and not subject to equitable tolling, depriving district courts of discretion to extend the limit based on extenuating circumstances.
The decision in Enbridge Energy, LP v. Nessel requires the case to be remanded to state court because Enbridge missed the statutory window.
The underlying dispute involves Michigan’s attempt to force Enbridge to shut down Line 5, a pair of oil and natural-gas-liquids pipelines running beneath the Straits of Mackinac. The pipeline supplies crude oil and propane to Michigan, Ohio, Ontario, and Quebec, creating significant economic and political stakes.
In June 2019, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel sued Enbridge in state court, asserting state-law claims and seeking an order to close Line 5.
Enbridge filed a notice of removal in December 2021, more than two years after the initial filing. The district court held the removal was timely despite being 857 days past the 30-day deadline. The district court reasoned that equitable tolling applied due to exceptional circumstances, including the importance of federal issues and a potential collision course with another case already pending in federal court.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reversed, concluding that the 30-day limit is not subject to equitable tolling.
In a unanimous, 14-page opinion written by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the Supreme Court agreed with the Sixth Circuit. The court held that aside from exceptions expressly set out in the statute, Congress has deprived district courts of the discretion to extend the deadline based on equitable considerations.
The Court noted that while the economic and political stakes of the underlying pipeline dispute are substantial, those facts were immaterial to the jurisdictional question. The ruling strictly enforces the statutory timeline for removal, regardless of a case’s particular circumstances.