Shakouri v. Davis, No. 17-20738 (5th Cir. 2019)
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The Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court's denial of plaintiff's motion to remand and the dismissal of his claims alleging that the individuals associated with the Texas prison system violated his rights under the First, Thirteenth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution as well as the Texas Constitution and a Texas statute. Plaintiff's claims were based on repercussions that he asserts he endured because of his religiously motivated decision not to participate in an unpaid prison work program.
The court held that there was no evidence that Defendant Whitfield's notice of removal was untimely under 28 U.S.C. 1446(b)(1) because there was no evidence that he was properly served. The district court did not err when it denied plaintiff's motion to remand where removal did not violate section 1446(b)(2)(A) even though no defendants joined Whitfield's notice of removal or filed consents to removal. The court also held that the district court did not abuse its discretion when it dismissed plaintiff's First and Fourteenth Amendment claims as malicious and when it dismissed plaintiff's retaliation and Thirteenth Amendment claims for failure to state a claim. Finally, the district court did not abuse its discretion in declining to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over plaintiff's state-law claims.
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