Crosby v. Aid Association for Lutherans

199 F.R.D. 636, 2001 WL 403213
CourtDistrict Court, D. Minnesota
DecidedApril 17, 2001
DocketNo. CIV. 00-2112(MJD/RLE)
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 199 F.R.D. 636 (Crosby v. Aid Association for Lutherans) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Crosby v. Aid Association for Lutherans, 199 F.R.D. 636, 2001 WL 403213 (mnd 2001).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

DAVIS, District Judge.

Plaintiffs brought this putative class action against Defendant Aid Association for Lutherans (“AAL”) and Defendant Timothy Schmidt, general agent for AAL in Minnesota, alleging that Defendants marketed an adjustable life insurance policy by deceptively and misleadingly showing that at a point in the time in the near future, the Plaintiffs would not have to pay further premiums out of their own pockets to purchase life'insurance. The “vanishing premium” would result because the investment proceeds would eventually become large enough to pay all subsequent premiums. Plaintiffs allege that the vanishing premiums never happened. Complaint ¶ 20.

Plaintiffs have alleged state, law claims of fraud, fraudulent inducement and deceit, breach of fiduciary duty, and consumer fraud against Defendants, and seek compensatory [638]*638and injunctive relief. Specifically, Plaintiffs seek actual damages, costs, disbursements, and attorney’s fees. In addition, Plaintiffs seek to enjoin Defendants from canceling their policies for nonpayment of premiums and/or reinstating the policies pursuant to the original agreements of the parties and to create a claims resolution procedure for resolution of individual issues.

Before the Court are a number of motions. Plaintiffs originally filed this complaint in Hennepin County District Court. The matter was removed on the basis of diversity jurisdiction and Plaintiffs have timely filed a motion for remand. Plaintiffs assert that the action must be remanded because the requirements of diversity jurisdiction have not been met; there is not complete diversity between the parties and the amount in controversy does not exceed $75,000.

Defendants oppose the motion to remand and have moved the Court to transfer venue to Wisconsin, or in the alternative, to stay this matter pending arbitration. Defendants have also asked for an extension of time with which to file a responsive pleading. Three other putative class actions, involving similar claims against AAL, have been filed in other jurisdictions. Two of those actions have been transferred to the Eastern District of Wisconsin. The third was filed in Missouri state court, removed to the federal court, and later remanded. Plaintiffs have filed a cross motion for default judgment, based on Defendants alleged failure to answer the complaint within the requisite time frame.

I. Remand

Remand to state court is proper if the district court lacks subject matter jurisdiction over the asserted claims. 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c). In reviewing a motion to remand, the court must resolve all doubts in favor of a remand to state court, and the party opposing remand has the burden of establishing federal jurisdiction by a preponderance of the evidence. In re Business Men’s Assurance Co. of America, 992 F.2d 181, 183 (8th Cir.1993)(citing Steel Valley Auth. v. Union Switch & Signal Div., 809 F.2d 1006, 1010 (3rd Cir.1987) cert. dismissed 484 U.S. 1021, 108 S.Ct. 739, 98 L.Ed.2d 756 (1988)).

A. Amount in Controversy

In the prayer for relief, Plaintiffs seek damages for the wrongful acts complained of, and reimbursement for their costs and disbursements. They also seek to enjoin Defendants from canceling their insurance policies and seek an order requiring Defendants to create an appropriate claims resolution procedure for the resolution of individual issues. Plaintiffs do not provide a specific damage amount in the Complaint. When no amount is specified in the complaint, the party opposing remand must prove the required amount by a preponderance of the evidence. Peterson v. BASF Corporation 12 F.Supp.2d 964, 971 (D.Minn.1998); Trimble v. Asarco, Inc. 232 F.3d 946, 959 (8th Cir. 2000).

Generally, in a class action suit in which the plaintiffs have separate and distinct claims, each claim must satisfy the jurisdictional amount requirement for diversity jurisdiction. Zahn v. International Paper Company, 414 U.S. 291, 301, 94 S.Ct. 505, 38 L.Ed.2d 511 (1973)(refusing to overrule Snyder v. Harris, 394 U.S. 332, 89 S.Ct. 1053, 22 L.Ed.2d 319(1969)). It is Plaintiffs’ position that based on the claims asserted, no class member seeks or is entitled to damages in excess of $75,000 under Minnesota law.

Defendants do not dispute that aggregation of damages is not appropriate when the plaintiffs assert separate and distinct claims. However, when plaintiffs assert a common and undivided interest, then aggregation may be appropriate. In this case, Defendants argue that Plaintiffs are asserting a common and undivided interest in a claim for an extra-judicial claims resolution process. Defendants assert that its cost in implementing such a procedure will exceed $1 million dollars, well over the amount in controversy requirement.

Although the Eighth Circuit has not yet addressed the specific issue put forth by Defendants here, whether the cost to a defendant in complying with injunctive relief may be used to satisfy the amount in controversy requirements, the Court finds that [639]*639weight of authority does not support the Defendants’ contention.

As noted above, the general rule does not allow class members to aggregate claims to meet the amount in controversy requirement. An exception to the non-aggregation rule exists for those claims in which the plaintiffs have united to “enforce a single title or right, in which they have a common and undivided interest...” Zahn, 414 U.S. at 294, 94 S.Ct. 505 (citing Troy Bank of Troy, Indiana v. G.A. Whitehead & Co., 222 U.S. 39, 40-41, 32 S.Ct. 9, 56 L.Ed. 81 (1911)). Such undivided claim is one, which no plaintiff can enforce in the absence of the others. Troy, 222 U.S. at 42, 32 S.Ct. 9. The claims at issue in this case involve separate insurance policies, and the Eighth Circuit has held that in class actions involving monetary recovery on individual insurance contracts, the claims of the proposed class are separate and distinct and cannot be aggregated. Burns v. Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, 820 F.2d 246, 250-251(8th Cir.1987). The court also held that with respect to injunctive relief, the amount in- controversy is measured by the value to the plaintiff of the right sought to be enforced. Id.

Defendants would have this Court adopt the “defendant’s approach”, in which the amount in controversy is determined by the defendant’s point of view. Snow v. Ford Motor Company, 561 F.2d 787, 788 (9th Cir. 1977). Courts that have rejected this approach have done so because it would be contrary to the non-aggregation rules set forth in Snyder and Zahn. See e.g., Snow, 561 F.2d at 790-791; Packard v. Provident Nat’l Bank,

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Bluebook (online)
199 F.R.D. 636, 2001 WL 403213, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/crosby-v-aid-association-for-lutherans-mnd-2001.