Federal Judiciary

A threshold question is whether a motion to remand is a pretrial matter not dispositive of a party's claim or defense that magistrate judges may hear and decide pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(A) or (3).

Lower courts are split on this question,^FN1 and there is no definitive ruling from the governing United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. But, in a recent case, the Fifth Circuit voiced no objection to a magistrate judge's ruling on a remand motion when the presiding district judge considered the aggrieved party's objection.^FN2 Since the parties here will have an opportunity to secure district-judge review of any perceived errors or defects in the order,^FN3 the undersigned elects to decide the motion rather than issue a more cumbersome recommendation for its disposition.

Full post as published by Split Circuits on October 06, 2009 (boomark / email).