28 USC 1452(a) permits removal from state courts to bankruptcy court of civil actions pending against a bankrupt debtor. This decision holds that the section does not permit removal from a federal district court to the bankruptcy court. To move a suit pending in federal district court to a bankruptcy court, the bankrupt must ask the district court to refer the case to the bankruptcy court if the two courts are in the same district, and if not, then first ask for transfer to the district court in the district in which the bankruptcy is pending and then ask that district court for referral to bankruptcy.
A party cannot “remove” a case from federal district court to bankruptcy court; instead, the party must seek a discretionary transfer to the district in which the bankruptcy is pending and then a discretionary referral to the bankruptcy court.