Opinion
CIVIL ACTION No. 03-1089, SECTION: I/1
October 7, 2003
ORDER AND REASONS
Pending before the Court are the following motions:
1. The motion of defendant, E.W.D. Travel Services, LLC, for summary judgment (Rec. Doc. No. 20);
2. The motion of defendant, Swiss Reinsurance America Corporation, for summary judgment dismissing plaintiffs' principal claim against it contained in paragraphs 5 and 12 of the plaintiffs' petition (Rec. Doc. No. 21); and
3. The motion of defendant, Swiss Reinsurance America Corporation to dismiss plaintiffs' class action request (Rec. Doc.
No opposition was filed to any of these motions.
Upon review of the motions, memoranda in support, attachments thereto, and "the law, for the reasons stated in the memoranda in support of the motions for summary judgment, the Court finds that there are no material issues of fact in dispute and that the defendants are entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law. See F.R.Civ.?. 56(c); Brown v. City of Houston, Texas, 337 F.3d 539, 540 — 541 (5th Cir. 2003).
With respect to the motion no dismiss plaintiffs' request for class certification, for the reasons stated by the defendant, the Court finds that the motion to dismiss should be granted. F.R.Civ.?. 23(c)(1) requires that a determination whether the action shall be maintained as a class action be made as soon as practicable after the action is commenced. Local Rule 23.1(3) mandates that the plaintiff move for class certification within 90 days after the filing of the complaint as a class action.
This action was filed in Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans, State of Louisiana, on March 7, 2003, and it was removed to this Court on April 16, 2003. Over 170 days have elapsed from removal. Plaintiffs' class certification request is untimely. See Stewart v. Project Consulting Services, Inc., 2001 WL 1000732 (Fallen, J.) (E.D. La. 2001); In re Alex Cook v. Illinois Central R.R. Co., 1995 WL 110621 (Vance, J.) (E.D. La. 1995). Accordingly,
IT IS ORDERED that the motion of defendant, S.W.D. Travel Services, LLC, for summary judgment is GRANTED;
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the motion of defendant, Swiss Reinsurance America Corporation, for summary judgment dismissing plaintiffs' principal claim against it contained in paragraphs 5 and 12 of the plaintiffs' petition is GRANTED;
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the motion of defendant, Swiss Reinsurance America Corporation to dismiss plaintiffs' class certification request is GRANTED.