Court Finds 'Weak' Claim Against In-State Defendant Sufficient to Prevent Removal

SCRANTON, Pa. - While environmental claims brought against a hydraulic gas driller's in-state transportation support firm are "weak," they are sufficient to require that the case be remanded to state court, a Pennsylvania federal judge has ruled. Burnett, et ux. v. Chesapeake Appalachia, LLC, et al., No. 3:11-cv-1059 (M.D. Pa.).

Senior U.S. District Judge Richard A. Caputo signed the remand order on Aug. 31, after concluding that Truman and Bonnie Burnett had not brought claims against the in-state company solely to defeat the federal court's jurisdiction.

The Burnetts filed their original complaint in the Bradford County (Pa.) Court of …