Case 2:13-cv SM-DEK Document 1 Filed 08/16/13 Page 1 of 7 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA

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1 Case 2:13-cv SM-DEK Document 1 Filed 08/16/13 Page 1 of 7 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA CATHERINE P. ALFORD, ET AL. * CIVIL ACTION NO.: * Plaintiffs * SECTION: * JUDGE: VERSUS * * CHEVRON U.S.A. INC., ET AL. * DIVISION: * MAGISTRATE: Defendants * NOTICE OF REMOVAL Defendant Chevron U.S.A. Inc. ( Chevron ), appearing through undersigned counsel with full reservation of rights, including all defenses permitted by Rule 12 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and all other jurisdictional, procedural and venue defenses as well as defenses to the merits of this action, respectfully avers as follows: I. PROCEDURAL HISTORY AND TIMELINESS OF REMOVAL 1. Plaintiffs, Catherine P. Alford, Margaret Perez Barton, James L. Carrere, Richard J. Carrere, Jr., Thomas A. Carrere, Paula Perez Landrem, and Leander H. Perez, III, filed a civil action on May 2, 2013, in the 25th Judicial District Court, Parish of Plaquemines, State of Louisiana, styled Catherine P. Alford, Margaret Perez Barton, James L. Carrere, Richard J. Carrere, Jr., Thomas A. Carrere, Paula Perez Landrem, and Leander H. Perez, III versus Chevron U.S.A. Inc., Goodrich Petroleum Company, L.L.C., Hilcorp Energy I, L.P., Laurent Oil & Gas, L.L.C., Malloy Energy Company, L.L.C., Noble Energy, Inc., and Shell Oil Company, Docket No

2 Case 2:13-cv SM-DEK Document 1 Filed 08/16/13 Page 2 of 7 2. Plaintiffs filed a supplemental and amending petition on May 3, 2013, naming Citrus Realty, L.L.C. as a plaintiff, and another amendment on July 30, 2013, naming River Realty L.L.C. as a plaintiff. 3. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1446(a), a true and correct copy of the state court suit record is attached as Exhibit A. 4. Because this Notice of Removal is filed prior to service of plaintiffs petitions and/or within 30 days of service of properly joined defendants and with their consent, it is timely under 28 U.S.C. 1446(b). 5. The Twenty-Fifth Judicial District Court is located in the Eastern District of Louisiana. The Notice of Removal is properly filed in this court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1446(a). II. BASIS OF DIVERSITY JURISDICTION & AMOUNT IN CONTROVERSY 1. Federal district courts have original jurisdiction of all civil actions in which the amount in controversy exceeds the sum of $75,000.00, exclusive of interest and costs, and are between: (1) citizens of different states; (2) citizens of a state and citizens or subjects of a foreign state; (3) citizens of different states and in which citizens or subjects of a foreign state are additional parties; and (4) a foreign state, defined in 28 U.S.C. 1603(a), as plaintiff and citizens of a state or different states Plaintiffs, Catherine P. Alford, Margaret Perez Barton, James L. Carrere, Richard J. Carrere, Jr., Thomas A. Carrere, Paula Perez Landrem, and Leander H. Perez, III, were at the time of filing of the state court action, and are now, citizens of the State of Louisiana U.S.C

3 Case 2:13-cv SM-DEK Document 1 Filed 08/16/13 Page 3 of 7 3. Plaintiff, Citrus Realty, L.L.C., is a limited liability company with a sole member, H. Hunter White, III, who is a domiciliary of Florida. Thus, Citrus Realty, L.L.C. was at the time of filing of the state court action, and is now, a citizen of the State of Florida. 4. Plaintiff River Realty, L.L.C. is a limited liability company with three members: (1) Thomas A. Carrere; (2) Richard J. Carrere, Jr.; and (3) James L. Carrere, who are domiciliaries of Louisiana. Thus, River Realty, L.L.C. was at the time of filing of the state court action, and is now, a citizen of the State of Louisiana. 5. Defendant Chevron U.S.A. Inc. is incorporated in the State of Pennsylvania and has its principal place of business in the State of California. Thus, Chevron U.S.A Inc. was a citizen of Pennsylvania and California at the time of filing of the state court action, and is now, a citizen of the States of Pennsylvania and California. 6. Defendant Goodrich Petroleum Company, L.L.C. ( Goodrich ) is a limited liability company with a sole member, Goodrich Petroleum Corporation. Goodrich Petroleum Corporation is incorporated in the State of Delaware and has its principal place of business in the State of Texas. Thus, Goodrich Petroleum Company, L.L.C. was at the time of filing of the state court action, and is now, a citizen of the States of Delaware and Texas. 7. Defendant Hilcorp Energy I, L.P. ( Hilcorp) is a limited partnership with a general partner, Hilcorp Energy Company. Hilcorp Energy Company was incorporated in the State of Texas, and has its principal place of business, in the State of Texas. Thus, Hilcorp Energy I, L.P. was at the time of filing of the state court action, and is now, a citizen of the State of Texas. 3

4 Case 2:13-cv SM-DEK Document 1 Filed 08/16/13 Page 4 of 7 8. Defendant Laurent Oil & Gas, L.L.C. ( Laurent ) is a limited liability company. J. Scott Laurent is a member of Laurent Oil & Gas, L.L.C. and a domiciliary of Texas. Thus, Laurent Oil & Gas, L.L.C. was at the time of filing of the state court action, and is now, a citizen of the State of Texas. 9. Defendant Malloy Energy Company, L.L.C. ( Malloy ) is a New York limited liability company. Patrick E. Malloy is the member and is a domiciliary of the State of New York. Thus, Malloy Energy Company, L.L.C. was at the time of filing of the state court action, and is now, a citizen of the State of New York. 10. Defendant Noble Energy, Inc. ( Noble ) is incorporated in the State of Delaware and has its principal place of business in the State of Texas. Thus, Noble Energy, Inc. was a citizen Delaware and Texas at the time of filing of the state court action, and is now, a citizen of Delaware and Texas. 11. Defendant Shell Oil Company ( Shell ) is incorporated in the State of Delaware and has its principal place of business in the State of Texas. Thus, Shell Oil Company was a citizen of Delaware and Texas at the time of the filing of the state court action, and is now, a citizen of Delaware and Texas. 12. Therefore, under Section 1332 of Title 28 of the United States Code, there is now complete diversity of citizenship between the respective parties, and complete diversity existed when the state court action was filed. 4

5 Case 2:13-cv SM-DEK Document 1 Filed 08/16/13 Page 5 of This case also meets the amount in controversy requirement. The petition does not allege a specific amount of money damages, or the value of the relief sought. However, the petition in this legacy case seeks recovery for present and future property damages and remediation for over 1,475 acres of immovable property due to alleged soil and groundwater contamination. As the lawsuit is pled as one for environmental remediation under Louisiana Revised Statute 30:29, et seq. (commonly referred to as Act 312 of 2006, as amended 2012), plaintiffs also plead statutory damages, including attorneys fees, experts fees and others in addition to their compensatory and punitive damage private claims. 14. Plaintiffs petition states a claim exceeding $75, The amount in controversy required for diversity of citizenship jurisdiction is satisfied. 2 III. OTHER PREREQUISITES FOR REMOVAL ARE SATISFIED 1. Service of the underlying state court petition for damages has not been completed. 3 As of the filing of this removal, only Chevron, Goodrich, Hilcorp, Noble and Shell have been served. Laurent and Malloy have not yet been served. Goodrich, Hilcorp, Noble and Shell have consented to removal, as shown in Exhibit B. IV. CONCLUSION This Court has subject matter jurisdiction over this matter pursuant to 28 U.S.C on grounds of diversity because the amount in controversy exceeds $75, and the named parties are citizens of different states. WHEREFORE, defendant Chevron U.S.A Inc. hereby removes this matter to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana for further proceedings. 2 Louque v. Allstate Ins. Co., 314 F.3d 776 (5th Cir. 2002). 3 Delgado v. Shell Oil Company, 231 F.3d 165, 177 (5th Cir. 2000) ( service of process is not an absolute prerequisite to removal ). 5

6 Case 2:13-cv SM-DEK Document 1 Filed 08/16/13 Page 6 of 7 Respectfully submitted: KEAN MILLER LLP /s/ David P. Curtis Michael R. Phillips (#21020) mike.phillips@keanmiller.com David P. Curtis (#30880) david.curtis@keanmiller.com Brittany Buckley Salup (#33042) brittany.salup@keanmiller.com Shannon A. Shelton (#34762) shannon.shelton@keanmiller.com 909 Poydras, Suite 1400 New Orleans, Louisiana Telephone: (504) Facsimile: (504) KEAN MILLER LLP L. Victor Gregoire (#22400) victor.gregoire@keanmiller.com Charles S. McCowan, III (#19699) trey.mccowan@keanmiller.com Alan J. Berteau (#17915) alan.berteau@keanmiller.com 400 Convention Street, Suite 700 Post Office Box 3513 Baton Rouge, Louisiana Telephone: (225) Facsimile: (225) Counsel for Defendant, Chevron U.S.A. Inc. 6

7 Case 2:13-cv SM-DEK Document 1 Filed 08/16/13 Page 7 of 7 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE This is to certify that on August 16, 2013, a copy of the foregoing was filed electronically with the Clerk of Court of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana using the CM/ECF system, which then issued electronic notices of the filing to registered attorneys in the federal CM/ECF PACER system. Notice of this filing was also issued by Fedex, facsimile, U.S. mail and/or ed to the following counsel of record: Plaintiffs: TALBOT, CARMOUCHE & MARCELLO Donald T. Carmouche dcarmouche@tcmlawfirm.net Victor L. Marcello vmarcello@tcmlawfirm.net John H. Carmouche jcarmouche@tcmlawfirm.net William R. Coenen, III wcoenen@tcmlawfirm.net Brian T. Carmouche bcarmouche@tcmlawfirm.net D. Adele Owen aowen@tcmlawfirm.net Ross Donnes rdonnes@tcmlawfirm.net Perkins Road Baton Rouge, Louisiana Telephone: (225) Facsimile: (225) CONNICK & CONNICK William Peter Connick pconnick@connicklaw.com 2551 Metairie Road Metairie, Louisiana Telephone: (504) Facsimile: (504) Goodrich Petroleum Company, L.L.C. GORDON, ARATA, MCCOLLAM, DUPLANTIS & EAGAN, L.L.C. Loulan Pitre Jr. lpitre@gordonarata.com Demarcus J. Gordon dgordon@gordonarata.com 201 St. Charles Ave., 40th Floor New Orleans, Louisiana Hilcorp Energy I, L.P. BARRASSO USDIN KUPPERMAN FREEMAN & SARVER, L.L.C.. Richard E. Sarver rsarver@barrassousdin.com Craig Isenberg cisenberg@barrassousdin.com Andrea Mahady Price aprice@barrassousdin.com Zachary I. Rosenberg zrosenberg@barrassousdin.com 909 Poydras Street, Suite 2400 New Orleans, Louisiana Telephone: (504) Facsimile: (504) Noble Energy, Inc. STONE PIGMAN WALTHER WITTMANN L.L.C. John P. Farnsworth jfarnsworth@stonepigman.com 546 Carondelet Street New Orleans, Louisiana Telephone: (504) Facsimile: (504) Shell Oil Company JOHNSON GRAY MCNAMARA, LLC Patrick W. Gray pwg@jgmclaw.com Amy E. A. Lee aal@jgmclaw.com Jack B. Stanley jbs@jgmclaw.com P.O. Box Lafayette, Louisiana Telephone: (337) Facsimile: (337) /s/ David P. Curtis 7