Valentin v. Dollar Tree Stores, Inc.
- Vernon Broderick
- 1:21-cv-08086
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
Valentin v. Dollar Tree Stores, Inc.: Judge Broderick remanded the case to state court after the parties consented based on the amount in controversy.
Ines Valentin and Dollar Tree Stores, Inc.; the case was returned to New York state court, and the federal case was closed.
What happened
In Valentin v. Dollar Tree Stores, Inc., a personal injury case was filed in New York state court and removed to federal court twice. The first removal was remanded because the defendant did not show that the required amount was involved.
After the second removal, the plaintiff asked the federal court to remand the case, citing problems with the removal and the amount in controversy. At a conference, the parties consented to remand based on the jurisdictional amount.
Judge Broderick ordered the case returned to the New York Supreme Court in Bronx County and directed the federal clerk to close the case.
The detailed version
- Valentin v. Dollar Tree Stores, Inc. · No. 1:21-cv-08086
- Vernon Broderick
- Dec. 29, 2021
Background
Ines Valentin filed this personal injury action in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of Bronx, on December 23, 2020. Dollar Tree Stores, Inc. removed the case to federal court on April 23, 2021. On July 8, 2021, District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil remanded the action to state court because Dollar Tree had not shown the required amount in controversy for federal diversity jurisdiction.
Dollar Tree filed an answer in state court on September 7, 2021, and removed the case again on September 29, 2021. In its second notice of removal, Dollar Tree stated that Valentin’s counsel had made a verbal settlement demand of $650,000, but had not provided written confirmation. Dollar Tree asserted that more than $75,000 was in controversy.
Request for Remand
On December 1, 2021, Valentin asked the court to return the case to state court. She cited Dollar Tree’s alleged failure to file the notice of removal in state court or otherwise notify her that the case had been removed a second time, as well as Dollar Tree’s failure to establish the required amount in controversy.
At a December 13, 2021, status conference, the parties discussed the removal and the amount in controversy. The parties consented to remand based on the jurisdictional amount.
Court’s Ruling
The court explained that the party removing a case bears the burden of establishing federal jurisdiction. For diversity jurisdiction, the amount in controversy must exceed $75,000. Under federal law, a court must remand a case when it lacks subject-matter jurisdiction, meaning authority to hear the case.
The court ordered that the action be REMANDED to the New York State Supreme Court, County of Bronx. The clerk was directed to close the federal case.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.