Velez v. MAM Trucking Services, Inc.
- Analisa Torres
- 1:21-cv-00316
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 6
In Velez v. MAM Trucking Services, Judge Torres remanded the accident case because the parties were not citizens of different states.
Rafael Velez and the defendants were affected: the federal court granted Velez’s remand motion and returned the case to Supreme Court, Bronx County, ending the federal court’s involvement.
What happened
Rafael Velez sued MAM Trucking Services, Inc., Noelvis Castellanos, NR Trucking Services Inc., and Elmer Fernandez Granados in New York state court over injuries from a car accident. The defendants moved the case to federal court, claiming that the parties were citizens of different states and that more than $75,000 was at stake.
Velez asked the federal court to send the case back to state court. The court examined where Velez was domiciled when he filed the lawsuit, considering his housing, employment, belongings, bills, insurance, medical care, and addresses listed on several forms.
Judge Torres found that Velez was domiciled in New York and that NR Trucking Services Inc. and Elmer Fernandez-Garcia were also domiciled in New York. Because the parties were therefore not citizens of different states, the court found that it lacked subject-matter jurisdiction, granted Velez’s motion, remanded the case to Supreme Court, Bronx County, and closed the federal case.
The detailed version
- Velez v. MAM Trucking Services, Inc. · No. 1:21-cv-00316
- Analisa Torres
- Apr. 27, 2021
Background
Rafael Velez filed state-law claims in Supreme Court, Bronx County, seeking money damages for injuries allegedly caused by a March 22, 2019 car accident. The defendants removed the case to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York under 28 U.S.C. § 1441, asserting diversity jurisdiction: they claimed that the parties were citizens of different states and that the amount in controversy exceeded $75,000. Velez moved to remand, meaning he asked the federal court to return the case to state court.
Jurisdictional Issue
For diversity jurisdiction, a person’s citizenship is determined by domicile when the complaint is filed. Domicile requires physical presence in a state and an intent to remain there indefinitely. The court considered the totality of the evidence, including Velez’s residence, employment, personal belongings, bills, insurance, medical providers, and statements about where he lived.
Velez stated that he lived in New York continuously from 2016, worked there, kept his belongings there, and intended to remain there. His landlord confirmed that he rented a room in New York from June 2016 through November 2020. Bills, New York vehicle insurance, and medical-provider records also supported a New York domicile. Some evidence pointed to New Jersey: Velez listed a New Jersey address on several forms, received some mail there, and visited one doctor there. The court found that this evidence did not outweigh the evidence showing that Velez intended to remain in New York indefinitely when he filed the lawsuit on October 1, 2020.
Ruling
The court found that Velez was domiciled in New York when the case was filed. It also found that NR Trucking Services Inc. and Elmer Fernandez-Garcia were domiciled in New York. Because the parties were not completely diverse, the court lacked subject-matter jurisdiction. Judge Torres granted Velez’s motion to remand, remanded the matter to Supreme Court, Bronx County, directed the Clerk to close the federal case, and entered the order on April 27, 2021.
Read the full 6-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.