Melo v. Eusebio

Background

Dioniso Melo and Silvia Duran filed a personal-injury case in New York State Supreme Court, Bronx County, arising from a multi-vehicle accident on May 26, 2023, on the Harlem River Drive in New York City. They sued HSG Logistics, Harpreet Singh, Eric Eusebio-Rojas, and Thomas Dexter. HSG Logistics and Singh removed the case to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on June 21, 2024, asserting federal diversity jurisdiction.

Motion to Remand

Melo moved to remand the case to state court under 28 U.S.C. § 1447, arguing that complete diversity was absent. He contended that both he and Eusebio-Rojas were domiciled in New York when the lawsuit began in May 2024.

Melo submitted an October 3, 2024 affidavit signed by Eusebio-Rojas. In it, Eusebio-Rojas stated that he lived in Florida from at least February 2018 until December 2021, then moved back to the Bronx and had not lived anywhere else since. He also stated that he had a Florida driver’s license issued in February 2018.

The removing defendants opposed remand. They argued that Eusebio-Rojas was domiciled in Florida when the case began. They relied on a police report listing an Orlando, Florida address and stating that his driver’s license was issued in Florida. They also pointed to service by certified mail to his Florida residence, although the return receipt was largely incomplete. Finally, they argued that Eusebio-Rojas’s state-court answer did not deny the allegation that he was and remained a Florida resident.

Court’s Analysis

For diversity jurisdiction, the relevant citizenship must exist when the lawsuit begins, and the party invoking federal jurisdiction must prove the facts supporting it. Citizenship depends on domicile, which is not necessarily the same as where a person resides. When a person’s residence or intent is disputed, a court may consider evidence such as the person’s current residence, driver’s license, vehicle registration, financial accounts, and the permanence of the living arrangement.

The court found that the jurisdictional facts were disputed. Melo’s evidence indicated that Eusebio-Rojas had lived in New York since December 2021. Other evidence cited by the removing defendants pointed toward Florida, including the police report, the Florida driver’s license, the attempted service at a Florida address, and the state-court answer. The court concluded that it needed to examine evidence outside the pleadings to determine where Eusebio-Rojas was domiciled when the case was filed.

Order

The court ordered an evidentiary hearing to determine the facts relevant to federal jurisdiction. It scheduled a telephone conference for March 14, 2025, at 3:00 p.m., to discuss the hearing’s timing and structure. The order did not grant or deny Melo’s motion to remand. Judge Gregory H. Woods directed the parties to follow the court’s individual rules, including the instructions in Rule 2(C).