Allstate Insurance Company v. Medaid Radiology, LLC

Nature of the document

The provided materials concern Allstate’s motion to remand, meaning a request to return a case from federal court to state court. They include Allstate’s notice of motion, supporting memorandum, declaration, state-court complaint, service records, the defendants’ removal notice, and a court directive requiring a response. The materials do not include a final ruling granting or denying the motion to remand.

Background

Allstate’s lawsuit was originally filed in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York, on or about September 11, 2019. Allstate alleged that Medaid Radiology, LLC, Columbus Imaging Center, LLC, and Reuven Alon-Alyoff a/k/a Rob Alon received no-fault insurance payments for magnetic resonance imaging, computerized tomography, and X-ray services that were not eligible for reimbursement. Allstate sought restitution of approximately $99,060.63, along with declaratory relief concerning the defendants’ use of independent contractors and Medaid’s alleged failure to maintain a license.

The defendants filed a notice of removal on February 7, 2020, seeking to transfer the case to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Their notice relied on diversity jurisdiction, which allows a federal court to hear certain disputes between citizens of different states when more than $75,000 is at stake. The notice asserted that the Allstate plaintiffs were citizens of Illinois, that Medaid and Columbus were citizens of New Jersey, and that Alon was a citizen of New Jersey.

Parties’ positions

Allstate argued that the removal was untimely and defective under 28 U.S.C. § 1446. According to Allstate, Columbus and Medaid were served on September 27, 2019, and Alon was served on September 30, 2019. Allstate stated that the defendants did not remove the case until February 7, 2020—133 days after service on Columbus and Medaid and 130 days after service on Alon—well beyond the 30-day removal period.

Allstate also argued that a January 20, 2020 stipulation extending the defendants’ time to answer, move, or otherwise respond until February 10 did not extend the statutory deadline for removal. Allstate requested that the case be returned to the New York state court and that its time to respond to the defendants’ counterclaim be extended until 30 days after a decision on the remand motion.

The defendants’ removal notice stated that they had removed the case under the federal removal statutes and that the January 20 stipulation supported their timing. The provided materials do not include a substantive response by the defendants to Allstate’s motion or a final judicial determination about whether removal was proper.

Court action and status

On March 6, 2020, Judge Valerie Caproni directed the defendants to respond by March 20, 2020, indicating why the court should not remand the case to state court. The provided document therefore sets a response deadline rather than deciding the remand motion. It does not state that the case was remanded, that removal was upheld, or that Allstate’s request for additional time to answer the counterclaim was granted or denied.

Disposition

No final disposition of the motion to remand appears in the provided text. The court’s recorded action was to require a response from the defendants.