Whitter v. Waizenegger

Background

Patrick Whitter sued Mark Edward Waizenegger and M. Falanga Trucking, LLC, in Supreme Court, Bronx County. He alleged that Waizenegger crashed a motor vehicle into Whitter’s car while acting in the course of his employment with M. Falanga Trucking. The defendants removed the case to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on January 10, 2019.

Whitter moved to remand, meaning to return the case to state court. The defendants relied on federal diversity jurisdiction, which generally requires citizens of different states and more than $75,000 in controversy.

Analysis

The parties agreed that complete diversity existed: Whitter was a citizen of Florida, Waizenegger was a citizen of Tennessee, and M. Falanga Trucking, LLC, was a citizen of New York. The only disputed issue was whether the amount in controversy exceeded $75,000.

The complaint did not state a specific damages amount. Instead, it alleged that Whitter was sick, sore, lame, disabled, injured, and in pain, and sought damages exceeding the jurisdictional limits of lower courts. Judge Torres held that these general, boilerplate allegations did not establish a reasonable probability that more than $75,000 was at stake. The defendants also relied on Whitter’s failure to stipulate that he would seek no more than $75,000, but the court found that the silence was not enough to meet the defendants’ burden. The defendants had not shown that they had actually sought such a stipulation or that Whitter had refused one.

Ruling

Judge Analisa Torres granted Whitter’s motion to remand. The Clerk of Court was directed to close the federal case, remand it to Supreme Court, Bronx County, and terminate the motion at ECF No. 7.