Opinion
Civil Action 23-202-SDD-EWD
09-20-2023
ROBERT TALLEY v. MASTEC, INC., ET AL.
BRIEFING ORDER
ERIN WILDER-DOOMES, UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
Before the Court is the Motion for Leave to File Second Amended Complaint (“Motion for Leave”)filed by Plaintiff Robert Talley. While the Court's Orders required Plaintiff to seek leave to file a comprehensive amended complaint that properly alleges all of Plaintiffs' claims and the citizenship of all currently named parties, Plaintiff's proposed Second Amended Complaint now seeks leave to add a third non-diverse Defendant, the City of Baton Rouge and Parish of East Baton Rouge (“City Parish”),in addition to non-diverse defendants Rene P. Boudreaux, III and Kevin Milton, as well as another (diverse) MasTec entity, MasTec Infrastructure Construction Corporation (“MIC”). The Motion for Leave fails to indicate whether consent was sought from Defendants for the addition of the new parties, in particular, the City Parish.
R. Doc. 51.
R. Docs. 27 and 49.
The City Parish is alleged to be “a political subdivision of the State of Louisiana domiciled in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and is therefore a citizen of the State of Louisiana for purposes of this suit.” R. Doc. 51-1, ¶ 8. Plaintiff is also alleged to be a citizen of the State of Louisiana. R. Doc. 1-1, p. 1, intro.
R. Doc. 51-1, ¶¶ 7-8. MIC is properly alleged to have its place of incorporation and principal place of business in Florida, and Plaintiff has now clarified that MasTec Network Solutions, LLC has one member, MasTec Inc., which also has its place of incorporation and principal place of business in Florida. Id. at ¶ 6.
The proposed addition of the nondiverse City Parish, which presumably, Defendants oppose, further complicates the Court's determination of its subject matter jurisdiction and in turn slows the progress of this case. The purpose of ordering Plaintiff to file a comprehensive amended Complaint (with adequate jurisdictional allegations) alleging all claims against all current Defendants was so that the issue of the improper joinder of Boudreaux and Milton could be reached via a properly asserted motion to remand; however, Plaintiff's post-removal attempt to add another nondiverse Defendant adds another issue to be resolved, which requires a different legal analysis.
Rather than take up these issues via a motion to remand, as originally intended, they will be considered in the resolution of the instant Motion for Leave in order to move this case forward. Accordingly, any Defendant(s) who opposes the Motion for Leave shall file an opposition memorandum addressing the alleged improper joinder of nondiverse Defendants Milton and Boudreaux under the analysis set forth in Smallwood v. Illinois Cent. R. Co.,and Plaintiff's request to amend to add the City Parish post-removal under Hensgens v. Deere & Co. Opposition memoranda shall be filed on or before October 10, 2023. As Plaintiff's Motion for Leave fails to address Smallwood and Hensgens, on or before October 24, 2023, Plaintiff may file a reply memorandum that specifically addresses the addition of the City Parish and the alleged improper joinder of Milton and Boudreaux under the applicable standards set forth in the referenced cases.
385 F.3d 568, 574 (5th Cir. 2004) (en banc). Defendants MasTec Network Solutions, LLC, Rene P. Boudreaux, and Mesa Underwriters Specialty Insurance Company previously alleged that Boudreaux and Milton were improperly joined. R. Doc. 1-1, ¶ 1(2), R. Doc. 1, ¶¶ 17-20 (Boudreaux) and No. 23-284, R. Doc. 1-2, ¶ 1(3) and R. Doc. 1, ¶¶ 4, 15 (Milton). Civil Action No. 23-284 was consolidated with this case on April 21, 2023. R. Doc. 8.
833 F.2d 1179 (5th Cir. 1987).
Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that any Defendant(s) who opposes the Motion for Leave to File Second Amended Complaint, filed by Plaintiff Robert Talley, shall file an opposition memorandum addressing the alleged improper joinder of nondiverse Defendants Kevin Milton and Rene P. Boudreaux III under the analysis set forth in Smallwood v. Illinois Cent. R. Co., and Plaintiff's request to amend to add the nondiverse City of Baton Rouge, Parish of East Baton Rouge postremoval under Hensgens v. Deere & Co. Opposition memoranda shall be filed on or before October 10, 2023.
R. Doc. 51.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, on or before October 24, 2023, Plaintiff Robert Talley may file a reply memorandum that specifically addresses the addition of the City Parish and the alleged improper joinder of Milton and Boudreaux under the referenced cases.