Novak v. Bank of New York Mellon Trust Co., NA.

This appeal requires us to resolve a single question: whether a defendant may seek to remove a state-court action to federal court before being formally served. Construing the relevant statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1446(b)(1), the Supreme Court has held that a defendant’s statutory period to remove does not begin to run, and a defendant is not required to remove, until the defendant has been served. Murphy Bros., Inc. v. Michetti Pipe Stringing, Inc., 526 U.S. 344, 347-48, 119 S.Ct. 1322, 143 L.Ed.2d 448 (1999). Plaintiff-Appellant Lawrence Novak contends, however, that service is so essential to…