Gates v. Allstate Texas Lloyd's

267 F. Supp. 3d 861
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Texas
DecidedNovember 16, 2016
DocketEP-16-CV-338-PRM
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 267 F. Supp. 3d 861 (Gates 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
Gates v. Allstate Texas Lloyd's, 267 F. Supp. 3d 861 (W.D. Tex. 2016).

Opinion

ORDER ADOPTING REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION OF THE MAGISTRATE JUDGE

PHILIP R. MARTINEZ, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

On this. day, the .Court considered the “Report and Recommendation of the, Magistrate Judge” (ECF No..31) [hereinafter R. & R.], filed on October 5, 2016, Plaintiffs Amalia and Carlos Gates’ “Objections to Report and Recommendation of Magistrate Judge Regarding Plaintiffs[’] Motion to Remand” (ECF No. 33) [hereinafter “Objections”], filed on October 18, 2016, and Defendant Allstate Texas Lloyd’s “Response to Plaintiffs’ Objections to Report and Recommendation of Magistrate Judge Regarding Plaintiffs’ Motion to Remand” (ECF No. 42), filed on October 28, 2016, in the above-captioned cause.

In the R. & R., the Magistrate Judge recommends denying Plaintiffs’ “Opposed Motion to Remand and Brief in Support” (ECF No. 14) [hereinafter “Motion”],.filed on September 1, 2016, in the above-captioned cause because he determined that [864]*864Defendant has “met its burden and established that the amount in controversy exceeded $75,000 at the time of removal.” R. & R. 5. Plaintiffs object to the R. & R. on three different grounds. After due consideration, the Court is of the opinion that all of Plaintiffs’ objections should be overruled and the R. & R. should be adopted for the reasons that follow.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

This is a diversity case in which Plaintiffs assert various state law claims against Defendant regarding an insurance claim Plaintiffs made for storm damage to their home. Notice of Removal Ex. Bl, at 3, Aug. 2, 2016, ECF No. 2-2 [hereinafter “Removal”]. After Plaintiffs filed the lawsuit in Texas state court on June 23, 2016, Defendant removed the case to federal court on August 2, 2016, asserting diversity jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332. Id. at 1. Plaintiffs thereafter filed their Motion requesting the Court to remand the case asserting that the amount in controversy is less than the jurisdictional amount required for diversity jurisdiction. Mot. 3-4.

II. LEGAL STANDARD

A. Review of the Magistrate Judge’s Determinations

The Court must conduct a de novo review of any of the Magistrate Judge’s conclusions to which a party has specifically objected. See 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(C) (“A judge of the court shall make a de novo determination of those portions of the report or specified proposed findings or recommendations to which objection is made.”). Any party may contest the Magistrate Judge’s findings by filing written objections within fourteen days of being served with a copy of the R. & R. 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(C).

The objections to the R. & R. must specifically identify those findings or recommendations that the party wishes to have the district court consider. Thomas v. Arn, 474 U.S. 140, 151, 106 S.Ct. 466, 88 L.Ed.2d 435 (1985). A district court need not consider “[fjrivolous, conclusive, or general objections.” Battle v. U.S. Parole Comm’n, 834 F.2d 419, 421 (5th Cir. 1987) (quoting Nettles v. Wainwright, 677 F.2d 404, 410 n.8 (5th Cir. 1982), overruled on other grounds by Douglass v. U.S. Auto. Ass’n, 79 F.3d 1415 (5th Cir. 1996)). Findings to which no specific objections are made do not require de novo review; the Court need only determine whether the R. & R. is clearly erroneous or contrary to law. United States v. Wilson, 864 F.2d 1219, 1221 (5th Cir. 1989).

B. Determining the Appropriate Amount in Controversy

Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1441(a), federal law provides for the removal of civil actions brought in a state court over which the district court has original jurisdiction. “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.” Energy Mgmt. Servs., LLC v. City of Alexandria, 739 F.3d 255, 258-59 (5th Cir. 2014) (citing 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331-1332, 1369).

“Federal diversity jurisdiction requires complete diversity between all plaintiffs and all defendants, and the amount in controversy must exceed $75,000.” Ditcharo v. United Parcel Serv., Inc., 376 Fed.Appx. 432, 436 (5th Cir. 2010) (citing 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a)). Where a state law prohibits plaintiffs from stating the specific amount of damages in their complaint, “ ‘the removing defendant must [865]*865prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000.”’ Id. (quoting Gebbia v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 233 F.3d 880, 882 (5th Cir. 2000)). “The defendant may prove that amount either by demonstrating that the claims are likely above $75,000 in sum or value, or by setting forth the facts in the controversy that support a finding of the requisite amount.” Gebbia, 233 F.3d at 882-83. Thus,

if a defendant in a [state court] suit can . produce evidence sufficient to constitute a preponderance showing that, regardless of the style or wording of the demand [in the state-court complaint] the amount in controversy actually exceeds § 1332’s jurisdictional threshold, ... [t]he plaintiff can defeat diversity jurisdiction only by showing to a “legal certainty” that the amount in controversy does not exceed $75,000.

Grant v. Chevron Phillips Chem. Co., 309 F.3d 864, 869 (5th Cir. 2002).

“Plaintiffs may attempt to establish such ‘legal certainty’ by submitting a ‘binding stipulation or affidavit’ with their complaint, stating that they affirmatively seek less than the jurisdictional threshold, and further stating that they will not accept, an award that exceeds that threshold.” Ditcharo, 376 Fed.Appx. at 436 (citing De Aguilar v. Boeing Co., 47 F.3d 1404, 1412 (5th Cir. 1995)).

III. ANALYSIS

Plaintiffs assert the following three objections to the R. &

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267 F. Supp. 3d 861, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gates-v-allstate-texas-lloyds-txwd-2016.