Alaska Employment Law

In Vanvelzor v. Central Garden & Pet Co.., 2010 WL 3219534 (D.Alaska Aug. 13, 2010), U S District Judge John Sedwick found citizenship diversity despite the plaintiff’s (possibly calculated) use of the word “residence” in his Complaint to describe his relationship with Alaska.

It is entirely reasonable to draw the inference that a person who avers he has been living in Alaska for more than two years when he files a complaint and lists an Alaska address on his pleadings is, indeed, a citizen of Alaska. This is especially true where plaintiff has done nothing to show that this obviously reasonable inference is not true.

In Ninilchik Native Association, Inc. v. Cook Inlet Region, Inc., 2010 WL 3123092 (D.Alaska Aug. 6, 2010), Judge Sedwick held that other CIRI village corporations were not “required” parties for Rule 19 joinder in Ninilchik’s suit against CIRI for breach of an ANCSA Section 12(a) conveyance duty.