§ 430.90.Time to Respond When Case Remanded For Improper Removal to Federal Court
Title 6. Of the Pleadings In Civil Actions · Chapter 3. Objections to Pleadings; Denials and Defenses · Article 1. Objections to Pleadings · Enacted 1995 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 430.90 sets 30-day deadlines, running from the original court's receipt of a remand order, for a defendant to respond after a case improperly removed to federal court is remanded without an answer having been filed.
(a)Where the defendant has removed a civil action to federal court without filing a response in the original court and the case is later remanded for improper removal, the time to respond shall be as follows:
(1)If the defendant has not generally appeared in either the original or federal court, then 30 days from the day the original court receives the case on remand to move to dismiss the action pursuant to Section 583.250 or to move to quash service of summons or to stay or dismiss the action pursuant to Section 418.10, if the court has not ruled on a similar motion filed by the defendant prior to the removal of the action to federal court.
(2)If the defendant has not filed an answer in the original court, then 30 days from the day the original court receives the case on remand to do any of the following:
(A)Answer the complaint.
(B)Demur or move to strike all or a portion of the complaint if:
(i)an answer was not filed in the federal court, and
(ii)a demurrer or motion to strike raising the same or similar issues was not filed and ruled upon by the original court prior to the removal of the action to federal court or was not filed and ruled upon in federal court prior to the remand. If the demurrer or motion to strike is denied by the court, the defendant shall have 30 days to answer the complaint unless an answer was filed with the demurrer or motion to strike.
(b)For the purposes of this section, time shall be calculated from the date of the original court's receipt of the order of remand.
Plain-English Summary
Section 430.90 addresses a narrow but recurring problem: a case removed to federal court, then remanded because the removal was improper, without the defendant ever having filed a response in the original state court. This section resets the response clock.
If the defendant never generally appeared in either court, subdivision (a)(1) gives 30 days from the original court's receipt of the case on remand to move to dismiss under § 583.250 or to move to quash, stay, or dismiss under § 418.10 — unless the original court already ruled on a similar motion before removal. If the defendant never filed an answer in the original court, subdivision (a)(2) gives 30 days from that same receipt date to either answer the complaint, or demur or move to strike, provided no answer was filed in federal court and no demurrer or motion to strike raising similar issues was already filed and ruled on before removal or in federal court before remand. If that demurrer or motion to strike is then denied, the defendant gets 30 days to answer, unless an answer was already filed alongside it.
Subdivision (b) fixes the reference point for all these deadlines: they run from the date the original court receives the order of remand, not from any earlier event in the federal proceeding.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much time does a defendant get to respond after a case is remanded from federal court?
Section 430.90 generally gives 30 days from the original court's receipt of the case on remand, whether the defendant is answering, demurring, or moving to quash, stay, or dismiss.
What date starts the 30-day clock under § 430.90?
Subdivision (b) starts the clock on the date the original court receives the order of remand, not the date of the federal court's remand ruling itself.
Can a defendant demur after a case is remanded if similar issues were already litigated in federal court?
Not if a demurrer or motion to strike raising the same or similar issues was already filed and ruled on before removal or in federal court before remand — § 430.90(a)(2)(B) forecloses that option.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1995, Ch. 796, Sec. 5. Effective January 1, 1996.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 28, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as:remand from federal court time to respondremoval remand deadline california