IADC Amicus Brief Program.

• Position: AMICUS

The International Association of Defense Counsel has an active amicus curiae program, submitting briefs on issues of importance to IADC members and their clients. Through its amicus participation, the IADC has helped shape the law surrounding product liability, arbitration, class actions, attorney client privilege, punitive damages, civil discovery, standing, jurisdiction, and tort reform. This section of the Defense Counsel Journal is dedicated to highlighting recent amicus briefs filed by the IADC so that the Journal's readers can benefit from the insights presented therein.

In its brief in Dart Cherokee Basin Operating Company, LLC, and Cherokee Basin Pipeline, LLC vs. Brandon W. Owens, (No. 13-719) the IADC joined with the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel (FDCC) and Washington Legal Foundation (WLF) in encouraging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a federal district court decision hindering an out-of-state defendant's ability to remove a lawsuit from state to federal court. The brief was written by Richard Samp and Cory Andrews of the Washington Legal Foundation, alongside IADC Amicus Committee Chair Mary-Christine Sungaila and Jenny Hua of Snell & Wilmer LLP. The Supreme Court will hear arguments on this matter on October 7, 2014.

The brief urges the Supreme Court to disavow the pervasive "presumption against removal" that nearly all federal appeals courts have adopted. The brief notes that the district judge below stated explicitly that "the strong presumption against removal" guided her decision to remand the case to state court, and argues that the supposed presumption has no basis in Supreme Court precedent and contradicts normal rules of statutory construction.

No. 13-719

IN THE Supreme Court of the United States

DART CHEROKEE BASIN OPERATING COMPANY, LLC, AND CHEROKEE BASIN PIPELINE, LLC, Petitioners,

v.

BRANDON W. Owens, on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated, Respondent.

On Writ of Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit

Brief of Washington Legal Foundation, International Association of defense Counsel, and Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel as Amici Curiae in Support of Petitioners

Mary-Christine Sungaila

Jenny Hua

Snell & Wilmer L.L.P.

600 Anton Blvd., Ste 1400

Costa Mesa, CA 92626

714-427-7006

Richard A. Samp (Counsel of Record)

Cory L. Andrews

Washington Legal Foundation

2009 Mass. Ave., NW

Washington, DC 20036

(202) 588-0302

rsamp@wlf.org

Date: May 29, 2014

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