1 2 3 Hon. Marsha J. Pachman 4 5 6 7

8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE 9 NWAS OKLAHOMA, INC., an Oklahoma corporation;10 WATER LOCATORS, LLC, a Montana limited liability company; TOBIAS No. C07-0580MJB TAYLOR11 and REGINA TAYLOR; TORREY GRUBBS and LORRIE GRUBBS; DALE RESPONDENT'S RESPONSE TO SCOTT12 and JANE SCOTT; DAN HOLT and MOTION TO CONFIRM SHANNON HOLT; and JESSE J. PIKE, ARBITRATION AWARD RICHARD13 D. KEATING, RICHARD D. KEATING, JR. and ERIC C. KEATING, 14 Claimants, 15 vs. 16 NORTHWEST AQUIFER SURVEYING, INC.,17 a Nevada corporation; ERVIN M. KRAEMER and CHRISTINE E. KRAEMER, 18 Respondents. 19 20 COME NOW the defendants and respond to applicants’ Motion to Confirm Arbitration Award21 in Federal District Court. The applicants have made application to the Federal District Court22 for the Western District of Washington to confirm an arbitration award pursuant to 9 U.S.C.23 § 1 et seq. The respondents reply that the Court has no jurisdiction of the cause. It is apparently24 the applicants’ position that 9 U.S.C. § 1 et seq. is an independent basis to confer jurisdiction25 on federal court.

RESPONDENT'S RESPONSE TO MOTION TO L E E • S M A R T • C O O K • M A R T I N & P A T T E R S O N P.S., Inc. • Pacific Northwest Law Offices CONFIRM ARBITRATION AWARD - 1 1800 One Convention Place • 701 Pike Street • Seattle • WA • 98101- C07-0580MJB 3929 Tel. 206.624.7990 • Toll Free 877.624.7990 • Fax 0fb7cf638e3e117108085b30ade93273.doc 206.624.5944 1 The applicants do not allege any basis for federal jurisdiction. Specifically, the 2 applicants do not assert that there is complete diversity of citizenship between the applicants 3 and the respondents, nor would it be possible for the applicants to make such a representation 4 since the applicants, Dale and Jane Scott, affirmatively represented themselves as Washington 5 residents on the occasion of the arbitration hearing October 11, 2006. 6 Federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction. Hodgson v. Bowerbank, 1809, 5 7 Cranch (9 U.S.) 303, 3 L.Ed. 108. It has long been settled that the fair presumption is that a 8 cause is without the federal court’s jurisdiction until the contrary is affirmatively shown. 9 Naartex Consulting Corp. v. Watt, CA 1983, 722 F.2d 779, 792, 232 U.S. App. DC 293, cert. 10 denied, 104 S. Ct. 2399. No such showing has been made by the applicants. 11 With limited exceptions, since 1806, federal courts have preserved the rule of “complete 12 diversity.” Strawbridge v. Curtiss, 1806, 3 Cranch (7 U.S.) 267, 2 L.Ed. 435, that is “where 13 more than one plaintiff sues more than one defendant and the jurisdiction rests on diversity of 14 citizenship, each plaintiff must be capable of suing each defendant. Soderstrom v. Kungsholm 15 Baking Company, CA 7th, 1951, 189 F.2d 1008, 1014. 16 Apparently it is the applicants’ position that 9 U.S.C. itself confers jurisdiction as a 17 federal question. The Federal Arbitration Act (9 U.S.C. §§ 1 et seq.) provides no independent 18 right to the federal forum. Jett v. Zink, (1973, CA 5 Ala), 474 F.2d 149, rehearing denied, 19 (1973, CA 5 Ala), 474 F.2d 1347 and rehearing denied (1973, CA 5 Ala), 474 F.2d 1348 and 20 cert. denied, (1973), 414 U.S. 854, 38 L.Ed.2d 104, 94 S. Ct. 153. 21 CONCLUSION 22 This Court has no jurisdiction over the subject matter of this controversy. The 23 applicants have an ample remedy under state law, RCW 7.05. 24 25

RESPONDENT'S RESPONSE TO MOTION TO L E E • S M A R T • C O O K • M A R T I N & P A T T E R S O N P.S., Inc. • Pacific Northwest Law Offices CONFIRM ARBITRATION AWARD - 2 1800 One Convention Place • 701 Pike Street • Seattle • WA • 98101- C07-0580MJB 3929 Tel. 206.624.7990 • Toll Free 877.624.7990 • Fax 0fb7cf638e3e117108085b30ade93273.doc 206.624.5944 1 DATED this 5th day of June, 2007. 2 LEE SMART COOK MARTIN & 3 PATTERSON, P.S., INC. 4

5 By: /s/ Sam B. Franklin Sam B. Franklin, WSBA No. 1903 6 Of Attorneys for Respondents [email protected] 7

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RESPONDENT'S RESPONSE TO MOTION TO L E E • S M A R T • C O O K • M A R T I N & P A T T E R S O N P.S., Inc. • Pacific Northwest Law Offices CONFIRM ARBITRATION AWARD - 3 1800 One Convention Place • 701 Pike Street • Seattle • WA • 98101- C07-0580MJB 3929 Tel. 206.624.7990 • Toll Free 877.624.7990 • Fax 0fb7cf638e3e117108085b30ade93273.doc 206.624.5944 1 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

2 I hereby certify that on the date provided at the signature below, I electronically filed 3 this document with the Clerk of the Court using the CM/ECF system, which will send 4 notification of such filing to the following individual: 5 Attorney for Applicants: 6 Howard R. Morrill Bundy7 & Morrill, Inc., P.S. 12351 Lake City Way N.E., Suite 202 Seattle,8 WA 98125 9 I certify under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of Washington that the 10 foregoing is true and correct. 11 12 DATED: June 5, 2007 at Seattle, Washington. 13 14 /s/ Michelle A. Davidson Michelle A. Davidson 15 16 17 18

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RESPONDENT'S RESPONSE TO MOTION TO L E E • S M A R T • C O O K • M A R T I N & P A T T E R S O N P.S., Inc. • Pacific Northwest Law Offices CONFIRM ARBITRATION AWARD - 4 1800 One Convention Place • 701 Pike Street • Seattle • WA • 98101- C07-0580MJB 3929 Tel. 206.624.7990 • Toll Free 877.624.7990 • Fax 0fb7cf638e3e117108085b30ade93273.doc 206.624.5944