Lowdermilk

FILED

FOR PUBLICATION MAR 02 2007

CATHY A. CATTERSON, CLERK

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS U.S. COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

WILLENE LOWDERMILK, No. 06-36085

Plaintiff - Appellee, D.C. No. CV-06-00592-ALH

v.

OPINION

UNITED STATES BANK NATIONAL

ASSOC.,

Defendant - Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Oregon Ancer L. Haggerty, District Judge, Presiding

Argued and Submitted February 8, 2007 Portland, Oregon

Filed

Before: THOMPSON, KLEINFELD, and BYBEE, Circuit Judges.

Opinion by Judge Bybee

BYBEE, Circuit Judge:

In this case we are called upon to resolve a question of first impression:

Under the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 (“CAFA”), Pub. L. 109-2, 119 Stat.

(2005), when the plaintiff has pled damages less than the jurisdictional amount, what must the defendant prove in order to remove the case to federal court? We

reserved this question in Abrego Abrego v. The Dow Chemical Co., 443 F.3d 676,

683 n.8 (9th Cir. 2006) (per curiam). We answer that the party seeking removal

must prove with “legal certainty” that…