WarHorse Oil & Gas, LLC v. Missouri Improvement Company et al

Filing 16

ORDER REGARDING CONDUCTING LIMITED DISCOVERY: The defendants shall have until 10/30/2015 to depose Taylor Mitchell and Steven Kent, II, limited to the statements they made in their supporting affidavits, and the factual basis for their statements. If the parties are unable to promptly agree on the date(s) for these depositions, they should contact the court and the court will set the date(s). The parties shall have until 11/13/2015 or 14 days after the depositions are completed, which ever is earlier, to file supplemental supporting or opposing memoranda (limited to 10 pages) addressing whether defendant B.A.S. Properties, L.L.C. was improperly joined. Signed by Magistrate Judge Stephen C. Riedlinger on 10/8/2015. (LLH)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA

WARHORSE OIL & GAS, L.L.C.
CIVIL ACTION
VERSUS
NUMBER 15-647-BAJ-SCR
MISSOURI IMPROVEMENT COMPANY,
ET AL
ORDER REGARDING CONDUCTING LIMITED DISCOVERY
In

their

Opposition

to

Plaintiff’s

Motion

for

Expedited

Consideration of Motion to Remand the defendants argued that they
should be allowed to depose Taylor Mitchell and Steven Kent, II,
persons who submitted affidavits in support of the plaintiff’s
Motion to Remand. Plaintiff acknowledged in their Reply Memorandum
in Support of Motion for Expedited Consideration of Motion to
Remand

that

the

court

has

discretion

to

allow

limited

jurisdictional discovery but argued that the defendants’ request is
a just a delaying tactic and should denied.1
The Mitchell and Kent affidavits are substantially the same.
Each asserts that he is “personally familiar with the owners,
employees and equipment of B.A.S. Properties, L.L.C.” and has
“personally witnessed B.A.S. Properties and/or its representatives,
employees and/or officers performing work in the development and/or
construction associated with the Livonia SIT Yard ...”

Neither

affiant explains how he has personal knowledge B.A.S. Properties’
owners, employees and equipment.

1

Neither affiant identifies any

Record document number 14, pp. 4-5.

particular person, be he an owner, employee or representative, who
performed work on the Livonia SIT Yard site.

Neither affiant

explains how he has personal knowledge that equipment purportedly
used to perform work on the Livonia SIT Yard site belongs to B.A.S.
Properties.

Personal

observation

may

suffice

to

support

a

statement that work is being done and equipment is being used on
the Livonia SIT Yard site.

But without some factual basis for

stating how the affiant know the persons are working for B.A.S.
Properties and the equipment is owned by B.A.S. Properties, such
statements are just unsupported speculation.

The court is not

required

when

to

consider

unsupported

speculation

determining

whether a party was improperly joined.
Whether B.A.S. Properties is or is not doing work on the
Livonia SIT Yard is a factual issue.

Depositions of Mitchell and

Kent are likely to confirm whether there is any factual basis for
the

plaintiff’s

allegation,

made

only

“[o]n

information

and

belief,” that B.A.S. Properties “is supplying dirt, clearing land,
operating

heavy

equipment

and

removing

debris

and

or

other

materials to the construction site at the request of [defendants]
...”2

These

two

depositions

would

not

lead

the

court

into

conducting a mini-trial on the merits of the plaintiff’s claims
against the other defendants.

The depositions would focus on the

2

Record document number 1-2, Petition for Preliminary and
Permanent Injunction, ¶ 19. This allegation does not have to be
accepted as an allegation of fact: plaintiff failed to alleged the
“information,” i.e., the actual facts, it relied upon to support
its belief.
2

knowledge Mitchell and Kent have regarding activities, if any,
B.A.S. Properties has performed on the Livonia SIT Yard site.
Therefore;
IT IS ORDERED that the defendants shall have until October 30,
2015 to depose Taylor Mitchell and Steven Kent, II, limited to the
statements they made in their supporting affidavits, and the
factual basis for their statements.

If the parties are unable to

promptly agree on the date(s) for these depositions, they should
contact the court and the court will set the date(s).
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the parties shall have until
November 13, 2015, or 14 days after the depositions are completed,
which ever is earlier, to file supplemental supporting or opposing
memoranda (limited to 10 pages) addressing whether defendant B.A.S.
Properties, L.L.C. was improperly joined.
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, October 8, 2015.

STEPHEN C. RIEDLINGER
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

3