... When It Is Proof Positive!
The Defendant that claims fraudulent joinder of other local Defendants faces the burden of putting on proof. There must not only be allegations and assertions of fraudulent joinder, but there must also be proof that the Plaintiff sued (joined) those local Defendants fraudulently.
This means that there must be proof that the Plaintiffs in a Hurricane Katrina CatClaim Case, for example, sued local adjusters for Bad Faith under Louisiana law, but that the only possible outcome could not result in the Plaintiffs recovering Damages against the local Defendants who were sued only for the purpose of defeating the diversity-of-citizenship jurisdiction of the Federal Courts.
Putting on no proof falls short of meeting this burden, said the Federal Judge granting Plaintiffs' Motion to Remand back to State Court in Thomas Matherne, Sr. & Anastasia Matherne v. Allstate Insurance Co. (E.D. La. Case No. 06-8120, Opinion Filed January 3, 2007).
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