In many federal actions, plaintiffs often assert state-law claims over which a federal district court may exercise supplemental jurisdiction. However, where a federal district court dismisses claims over which it has original jurisdiction, it often will decline to exercise jurisdiction over the pendent state-law claims and dismiss those claims without prejudice to the plaintiff’s right to refile them in state court. Litigants in Pennsylvania, however, often overlook the statutory requirements for transferring state-law claims from federal to state court and, instead, simply file a new complaint in state court. Doing so runs afoul of the mandates of 42 Pa. C.S. Section 5103 and controlling Pennsylvania case law, which holds that a litigant must file certified copies of the federal dismissal order and related federal pleadings in state court. Noncompliance with these requirements will not toll the limitations period on the state-law claims and could result in a litigant losing the ability to proceed with its state-law claims in any forum.
The Tolling of the Limitations Period on State-Law Claims Filed in Federal Court
Under 28 U.S.C. Section 1367(a), federal courts may exercise supplemental jurisdiction over state-law claims not otherwise within their jurisdiction when such claims “are so related to claims in the action within such original jurisdiction that they form part of the same case or controversy.” When a federal district court dismisses the claims over which it has original jurisdiction, it typically declines to exercise jurisdiction over the related state-law claims and dismisses those claims without prejudice to the plaintiff’s right to proceed with them in state court. See 28 U.S.C. Section 1367(c)(3).