Brandon v. Wal-Mart Stores East LP

CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Indiana
DecidedMarch 24, 2020
Docket1:19-cv-00505
StatusUnknown

This text of Brandon v. Wal-Mart Stores East LP (Brandon v. Wal-Mart Stores East LP) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Indiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Brandon v. Wal-Mart Stores East LP, (N.D. Ind. 2020).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA FORT WAYNE DIVISION ALLEN BRANDON, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) Case No. 1:19-CV-505 ) WAL-MART STORES EAST, LP D/B/A ) WAL-MART DISTRIBUTION CENTER ) #7390, ) ) Defendant. ) OPINION AND ORDER This matter is before the Court on the Motion to Remand to Grant County Circuit Court filed by the Plaintiff, Allen Brandon (ECF 11). Defendant Wal-Mart Stores East, LP filed a response in opposition (ECF 13) to which Brandon filed a reply (ECF 14). For the reasons explained below, the motion is DENIED. BACKGROUND Plaintiff Allen Brandon filed this lawsuit against Wal-Mart, his former employer, in state court, alleging that Wal-Mart “wrongfully terminated [Plaintiff’s] employment” and that “said termination was a retaliatory action against the Plaintiff due to his Worker’s Compensation claim and injury.” Complaint (ECF 5), p. 2. Brandon alleges that “on September 20, 2019, he injured his right shoulder while working within the course and scope of his employment with Defendant[]” and that he was terminated from his employment two weeks later. Id., pp. 1-2. Brandon’s sole claim for retaliatory discharge is brought under Indiana state law pursuant to Frampton v. Central Indiana Gas Company, Inc., 297 N.E.2d 425, 428 (Ind. 1973). Wal-Mart filed a Notice of Removal and removed the case to this Court on the basis of diversity jurisdiction. Notice of Removal (ECF 1). Diversity jurisdiction requires diversity of citizenship of the parties to the action and an amount in controversy exceeding $75,000.00. 28 U.S.C. § 1332. Brandon contends in his motion to remand that the amount in controversy is not

met in this case1 and, as a result, it must be remanded to state court. Motion to Remand, p. 1 (“Subject matter jurisdiction based on diversity of citizenship does not exist because the amount in controversy is less than $75,000.00. The amount in controversy being less than $75,000.00 destroys the court’s jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332.”). Id. Also in his motion, Brandon “stipulates that he will seek damages less than $75,000.00 and will not collect the amount of any judgment over $74,999.99.” Id. Brandon argues, then, that the amount in controversy in this case is less than $75,000.00 and, even if he should recover more, he will not collect it. For this reason,

Brandon asks this Court to remand this case to the Grant County Superior Court. STANDARD OF REVIEW This Court set forth the standard of review on this issue in the case of L.D., ex rel., Deter v. Meijer, Inc.: A defendant in state court may remove a case to a federal district court only if the district court has original jurisdiction over the action. See 28 U.S.C. § 1441; Caterpillar Inc. v. Williams, 482 U.S. 386, 392, 107 S.Ct. 2425, 96 L.Ed.2d 318 (1987). If the district court does not have jurisdiction, the case must be remanded. 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c). When ruling on a motion to remand, “[c]ourts should interpret the removal statute narrowly and presume that the plaintiff may choose his or her forum,” with any doubt regarding jurisdiction resolved in favor of 1 Diversity of citizenship is conceded in this case. Brandon is “a resident of the State of Indiana and the County of Grant.” Complaint, p. 1. “Wal-Mart Stores East, LP operates the distribution center in Gas City, Indiana where Plaintiff was employed. Wal-Mart Stores East, LP is a limited partnership organized and existing under the laws of the State of Delaware with principal business offices located in Bentonville, Arkansas[,]” Notice of Removal (ECF 1), p. 1. 2 remand. Battle v. Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., 2005 WL 2284250, at *1 (N.D.Ill. Sept.15, 2005) (quoting Doe v. Allied-Signal, Inc., 985 F.2d 908, 911 (7th Cir. 1993)). The burden of establishing federal jurisdiction falls on the party seeking removal. Oshana v. Coca-Cola Co., 472 F.3d 506, 511 (7th Cir. 2007); Meridian Sec. Ins. Co. v. Sadowski, 441 F.3d 536, 540 (7th Cir. 2006); Doe, 985 F.2d at 911. In this case, subject-matter jurisdiction could only be based on diversity of citizenship. 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a)(1). There is no question that the parties are diverse; the only question for the Court is whether the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000. “The amount in controversy is the amount required to satisfy the plaintiff’s demands in full on the day the suit begins, or in the event of removal, on the day the suit was removed.” Oshana, 472 F.3d at 511 (citations omitted). The proponent of jurisdiction “has the burden of showing by a preponderance of the evidence facts that suggest the amount-in-controversy requirement is met.” Id.; see Bailey v. Conocophillips Co., 2006 WL 3487655, at *3 (S.D. Ill. Dec.4, 2006) (“A defendant seeking to establish jurisdiction on the basis of diversity must provide ‘competent proof’ that the amount in controversy exclusive of interest and costs exceeds $75,000.”). When the complaint does not establish the amount in controversy, “a good-faith estimate of the stakes is acceptable if it is plausible and supported by a preponderance of the evidence.” Oshana, 472 F.3d at 511. The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has suggested several ways in which this may be done: by contention interrogatories or admissions in state court; by calculation from the complaint’s allegations; by reference to the plaintiff’s informal estimates or settlement demands; or by introducing evidence, in the form of affidavits from the defendant’s experts, about how much it would cost to satisfy the plaintiff’s demands. Meridian Security, 441 F.3d at 541; Malinowski v. Walgreen Co., 2008 WL 2704740, at *2 (N.D. Ind. July 3, 2008). “Once the defendant in a removal case has established the requisite amount in controversy, the plaintiff can defeat jurisdiction only if it appears to a legal certainty that the claim is really for less than the jurisdictional amount.” Oshana, 472 F.3d at 511 (citation omitted and internal quotations marks omitted). L.D., ex rel., Deter v. Meijer, Inc., 2009 WL 1191694, at *1-2 (N.D. Ind. Apr. 30, 2009). DISCUSSION In its response brief in opposition to Brandon’s motion, Wal-Mart argues that removal was proper and that Plaintiff’s assertion that the amount in controversy is less than the 3 jurisdictional amount–or more precisely, Plaintiff’s representation that he will not seek or accept a judgment exceeding $74,999.99–“does not defeat Wal-Mart’s removal[]” and is not a valid basis for seeking remand. Defendant’s Response (ECF 13), p. 1. In support of its position, Wal- Mart cites and discusses the cases of Chase v. Shop ‘N Save Warehouse Foods, 110 F.3d 424

(7th Cir. 1997) and Hunt v. DaVita, Inc., 680 F.3d 775 (7th Cir.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Saint Paul Mercury Indemnity Co. v. Red Cab Co.
303 U.S. 283 (Supreme Court, 1938)
Caterpillar Inc. v. Williams
482 U.S. 386 (Supreme Court, 1987)
In the Matter of Shell Oil Company
970 F.2d 355 (Seventh Circuit, 1992)
Jane Doe v. Allied-Signal, Inc.
985 F.2d 908 (Seventh Circuit, 1993)
Rex A. Workman v. United Parcel Service, Inc.
234 F.3d 998 (Seventh Circuit, 2000)
Meridian Security Insurance Co. v. David L. Sadowski
441 F.3d 536 (Seventh Circuit, 2006)
Hunt v. DaVita, Inc.
680 F.3d 775 (Seventh Circuit, 2012)
LM Ins. Corp. v. Spaulding Enterprises Inc.
533 F.3d 542 (Seventh Circuit, 2008)
Terry v. Service America Corp.
990 F. Supp. 476 (N.D. Mississippi, 1997)
Frampton v. Central Indiana Gas Company
297 N.E.2d 425 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1973)
Birkenbuel v. M.C.C. Construction Corp.
962 F. Supp. 1305 (D. Montana, 1997)
Bush v. Roadway Express, Inc.
152 F. Supp. 2d 1123 (S.D. Indiana, 2001)
Andrews, Steven G. v. E.I. DuPont de Nemou
447 F.3d 510 (Seventh Circuit, 2006)
W.C. Motor Co. v. Talley
63 F. Supp. 3d 843 (N.D. Illinois, 2014)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
Brandon v. Wal-Mart Stores East LP, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/brandon-v-wal-mart-stores-east-lp-innd-2020.