On April 7, 2014, the Supreme Court accepted certiorari review in Dart Cherokee Basin Operating Co., LLC v. Owens, No. 13-719, to resolve a circuit split regarding whether the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA) requires a removing defendant to submit evidence in support of removal at the time of the notice of removal or whether evidence can be submitted later in response to a motion to remand. The United States District Court for the District of Kansas had remanded a putative class action removed under CAFA because the defendant did not submit evidence supporting its calculation of the amount in controversy at the time of or with its notice of removal, even though the notice of removal included detailed allegations regarding the defendant’s damages calculation, and even though the defendant submitted sufficient supporting evidence in its subsequent response to the plaintiff’s motion to remand. Owens v. Dart Cherokee Basin Operating Co. LLC, 2013 WL 2237740 (May 21, 2013). A divided panel of the Tenth Circuit denied the defendant’s request to appeal and subsequent petition for rehearing en banc.

Related Posts