Espinoza v. Allstate Texas Lloyd's

222 F. Supp. 3d 529, 2016 WL 6915275, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 162253
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Texas
DecidedNovember 23, 2016
DocketEP-16-CV-00318-DCG
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 222 F. Supp. 3d 529 (Espinoza v. Allstate Texas Lloyd's) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Espinoza v. Allstate Texas Lloyd's, 222 F. Supp. 3d 529, 2016 WL 6915275, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 162253 (W.D. Tex. 2016).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

DAVID C. GUADERRAMA, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

On this day, the Court considered Plaintiff Blanca Espinoza’s (“Plaintiff’) “Opposed Motion to Remand and Brief in Support” (“Plaintiffs Motion to Remand”) (ECF No. 7), filed on September 1, 2016. Defendant Allstate Texas Lloyd’s (“Defendant”) filed a response (“Defendant’s Response”) (ECF No. 8) on September 8. Plaintiff filed a reply (“Plaintiffs Reply”) (ECF No. 11) on September 14. Defendant filed a Sur-Reply (ECF No. 19) on November 16. Having considered the parties’ arguments, in view of the applicable law, the Court DENIES Plaintiffs Motion to Remand.

I. BACKGROUND

On June 23, 2016, Plaintiff brought this action in the 384th Judicial District Court of El Paso County, Texas, asserting state law causes of action based on an insurance claim Plaintiff made following damage to [532]*532her property from a hail/wind storm.1 Notice of Removal at 1, EOF No. 1; id., Ex. B-1 ¶¶ 5.1-5.3. Defendant was served with the state court petition on July 11. Notice of Removal at 1.

Premised on diversity jurisdiction, Defendant removed this matter to federal court on August 2, 2016. Id. at 2; see also 28 U.S.C. § 1446(b) (stating that a party has thirty days to remove an action after receipt of initial petition). Plaintiff is a citizen of Texas. Notice of Removal at 2. Defendant is an association of underwriters whose individual underwriters are residents and citizens of the State of Illinois and New Jersey. Id. at 2-3.

On September 1, 2016, Plaintiff filed a Motion to Remand arguing that the amount in controversy does not exceed $75,000, exclusive of interest and costs.2 Pl.’s Mot. Also on the same day, Plaintiff filed a “Stipulation of Damages” (“Post-Removal Stipulation”) seeking to limit her recovery to under $75,000.3 See Post-Removal Stipulation.

II. LEGAL STANDARD

“‘Federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction,’ possessing ‘only that power authorized by Constitution and statute.’ ” Gunn v. Minton, 568 U.S. 251, 133 S.Ct. 1059, 1064, 185 L.Ed.2d 72 (2013) (quoting Kokkonen v. Guardian Life Ins. Co. of Am., 511 U.S. 375, 377, 114 S.Ct. 1673, 128 L.Ed.2d 391 (1994)). “It is to be presumed that a cause lies outside this limited jurisdiction, and the burden of establishing the contrary rests upon the party asserting jurisdiction.” Energy Mgmt. Servs., LLC v. City of Alexandria, 739 F.3d 255, 258-59 (5th Cir. 2014) (quoting Kokkonen, 511 U.S. at 377, 114 S.Ct. 1673).

A defendant may remove a state-court civil action to a federal district court, if the latter has original jurisdiction. See 28 U.S.C. § 1441(a). “A federal district court may exercise original jurisdiction over any civil action that either satisfies diversity requirements or that arises under the federal constitution, statutes, or treaties— commonly referred to as ‘federal question’ jurisdiction.” Energy Mgmt., 739 F.3d at 258-59 (citing 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331, 1332, 1369). “Thus, under § 1441, removal is proper only when the court has original jurisdiction over at least one asserted claim under either federal question or diversity jurisdiction.” Id. at 259 (citing City of Chicago v. Int’l Coll. of Surgeons, 522 U.S. 156, 165, 118 S.Ct. 523, 139 L.Ed.2d 525 (1997)). Diversity jurisdiction exists “where the matter in controversy exceeds the sum or value of $75,000, exclusive of interest and costs, and is between... citizens of different States.” 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a)(1).

Once the case is removed, the district court must, however, remand, “[i]f at any time before final judgment it appears that the district court lacks subject matter jurisdiction.” 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c). The removing party bears the burden of proving by preponderance of evidence that [533]*533federal jurisdiction exists. New Orleans & Gulf Coast Ry. Co. v. Barrois, 533 F.3d 321, 327 (5th Cir. 2008) (citations omitted). Significantly, the jurisdictional facts must be judged as of the time of filing of the state court petition. White v. FCI USA, Inc., 319 F.3d 672, 674 (5th Cir. 2003) (per curiam) (citing St. Paul Reins. Co. v. Greenberg, 134 F.3d 1250, 1253 (5th Cir. 1998)).

When removal is premised upon diversity jurisdiction and the parties’ dispute whether the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000, see 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a), courts must determine the amount in controversy in light of “the claims in the state court petition as they existed at the time of removal.” Manguno v. Prudential Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co., 276 F.3d 720, 723 (5th Cir. 2002) (citation omitted). In general, the amount in controversy is determined by the amount sought on the face of the state court petition, so long as the claim is made in good faith. Greenberg, 134 F.3d at 1253; De Aguilar v. Boeing Co., 47 F.3d 1404, 1408 (5th Cir. 1995). Where state law prevents a plaintiff from alleging a specific amount of damages in the complaint, a defendant must demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence that the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000. See Garcia v. Koch Oil Co. of Tex. Inc., 351 F.3d 636, 638-39 (5th Cir. 2003); Gebbia v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 233 F.3d 880, 882-83 (5th Cir. 2000); De Aguilar, 47 F.3d at 1410-11. “The district court must first examine the complaint to determine whether it is ‘facially apparent’ that the claims exceed the jurisdictional amount. If it is not thus apparent, the court may rely on ‘summary judgment-type’ evidence to ascertain the amount in controversy.” Greenberg, 134 F.3d at 1253 (footnotes omitted); see also Garcia, 351 F.3d at 639 (holding that the defendant may prove claims by demonstrating that the claims are likely above $75,000 or by setting forth facts in controversy that support a finding of the requisite amount). Courts have considered pre-suit demand letters as such evidence in determining whether defendants have met the preponderance burden. See Hartford Ins.

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222 F. Supp. 3d 529, 2016 WL 6915275, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 162253, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/espinoza-v-allstate-texas-lloyds-txwd-2016.