This case represents the consolidation of three interlocutory appeals. Plaintiffs filed three individual Complaints in the Circuit Court of Maryland alleging violations of the Maryland Secondary Mortgage Loan Law. Plaintiffs' counsel sent correspondence to Defendants' counsel informing counsel of Plaintiffs' intention to amend their individual Complaints into class actions. Enclosed with each correspondence were draft copies of three amended class action Complaints. The draft complaints stated that the value of each individual claim will likely amount to $20,000 to $90,000.

The Defendants believe that Plaintiffs were alleging facts giving rise to a federal diversity action under the Class Action Fairness Act codified at 28 USC §1332(d). They argued that the draft Complaints qualified as "other papers" under this provision providing that the defendant may remove a case but that was not initially removable within thirty days of receiving a "copy of an amended pleading, motion, order or other paper from which it may be first ascertained that the case is one which is or has become removable." Under this section the Defendants removed the case to the United States District Court for the District of Maryland.

Plaintiffs filed their amended class action Complaints with the United States District Court. A few weeks later, they sought to remand the cases to state court. They argued that neither the correspondence nor the draft Complaints they provided Defendants qualified as other papers within the meaning of Section 1446(b).

The Fourth Circuit held that it need not decide the issue of whether Defendants' removal should be upheld. The case turned on whether the Plaintiff voluntarily amended his Complaint to allege a basis for federal jurisdiction. In the case in which a plaintiff voluntarily amends his Complaint to provide for federal jurisdiction, a federal court may exercise jurisdiction even if the case is improperly removed.

As the Plaintiffs expressed no intent to abandon their class action Complaints, the Defendants would be able to renew their notices for removal once these cases were remanded to state court. As the Plaintiffs filed amended Complaints providing ample ground for federal jurisdiction, the federal district lately had jurisdiction over the action.