WASHINGTON, D.C. (Sept. 5, 2025) – NFIB filed an amicus brief in the case Enbridge Energy, LP, et al. v. Dana Nessel, Attorney General of Michigan at the United States Supreme Court. The case concerns Section 1446(b), which creates a procedural time limit of 30 days for defendants to remove a case from state to federal court. NFIB joined with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in filing the brief.

“Congress has provided small business defendants with the right to remove a case from state to federal court when federal jurisdiction exists,” said Beth Milito, Vice President and Executive Director of NFIB’s Small Business Legal Center. “There are circumstances when the normal deadline for removal must be extended to protect the rights of defendants. As this case demonstrates, one of those situations is when plaintiffs use procedural gamesmanship and lawsuit manipulation to avoid federal jurisdiction. NFIB urges the Court to recognize that there are equitable exceptions to the removal time limit so that important federal questions can be considered in federal court.”

The business amicus brief argues two main points: 1) the 6^th Circuit erred by interpreting Section 1446(b) in a way that allowed the state to thwart federal jurisdiction through procedural gamesmanship, and 2) the lower court also erred by applying a “presumption against removal.”

The NFIB Small Business Legal Center protects the rights of small business owners in the nation’s courts. NFIB is currently active in more than 40 cases in federal and state courts across the country and in the U.S. Supreme Court.