Davis v. Meagher Oil & Gas Properties Inc

Filing 6

MEMORANDUM ORDER: Meagher should file an Amended Notice of Removal by January 30, 2009. A scheduling conference will be set in due course. Signed by Magistrate Judge Mark L Hornsby on 1/13/09. (crt,Kennedy, Tara)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT W E S T ER N DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA S H R E V EP O R T DIVISION

J O H N P. DAVIS, JR. VERSUS M E A G H E R OIL & GAS PROPERTIES, INC.

C I V I L ACTION NO. 08-cv-1638 J U D G E HICKS M A G I S T R A T E JUDGE HORNSBY

M E M O R A N D U M ORDER M e a g h e r removed this case based on an assertion of diversity jurisdiction, which i m p o s e s upon it the burden of presenting facts sufficient to ensure the existence of j u r is d i c ti o n . Meagher alleges in paragraph six of its Notice of Removal that Plaintiff J o h n Davis "is an individual residing in Caddo Parish, Louisiana." It is domicile rather than mere residency that decides citizenship for diversity p u r p o s e s , and "[i]t is well established that an allegation of residency does not satisfy the r e q u i re m e n t of an allegation of citizenship." Great Plains Trust Co. v. Morgan Stanley, 313 F . 3 d 305, 310 n. 2 (5th Cir. 2002), quoting Strain v. Harrelson Rubber Co., 742 F.2d 888 (5th Cir. 1984). Mr. Davis may be a resident of Louisiana and one or more other states, but h e is a domiciliary and citizen of only one state at any given time. Meagher must allege the state in which Mr. Davis was domiciled at the relevant time. Meagher should file an A m e n d e d Notice of Removal by January 30, 2009 to address this issue. A scheduling c o n f e r e n c e will be set in due course.

T H U S DONE AND SIGNED in Shreveport, Louisiana, this 13th day of January, 2009.

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