City of Brunswick v. Honeywell International, Inc., et al
Split Score
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Case Summary
Disposition
Reversed
The Eleventh Circuit reversed a district court order that had remanded the City of Brunswick’s state-law nuisance and trespass suit against Honeywell and Georgia Power to Georgia state court. The court held that (1) the defendants properly removed under the federal-officer statute because their remediation duties were performed under EPA control pursuant to CERCLA and an EPA consent decree, and (2) the defendants’ notice of appeal automatically stayed the remand order, giving the court jurisdiction to decide the appeal.
Circuit Split Identified
Legal Issue
Whether the filing of a notice of appeal from a remand order in a federal-officer-removal case automatically stays all district-court proceedings (including the effectiveness of the remand order) under the Griggs principle as applied in Coinbase, Inc. v. Bielski.
Circuit Positions
Notice of appeal automatically stays district-court proceedings and remand order in federal-officer-removal cases.
Coinbase does not impose an automatic stay; stays are discretionary and the remand order may proceed.
Conflict Summary
The Eleventh and Fourth Circuits hold that, under Griggs and Coinbase, a notice of appeal divests the district court of jurisdiction and automatically stays the remand order and any further proceedings. The Ninth Circuit concludes Coinbase is limited to the arbitration context and that stays in federal-officer-removal appeals are discretionary; therefore, a remand order may take immediate effect unless a separate stay is entered.