Ramos v. Ramierezolivo
- Valerie Caproni
- 1:22-cv-09723
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Ramos v. Ramierezolivo, Judge Caproni ordered a remand unless defendants proved the case involved more than $75,000.
The order affects plaintiffs Migdalia Ramos and Juan Ramos and defendants Willy Ramierezolivo and Battaway Towing LLC by requiring the defendants to provide evidence supporting federal jurisdiction or face remand to Bronx County Supreme Court.
What happened
In Ramos v. Ramierezolivo, plaintiffs Migdalia Ramos and Juan Ramos sued Willy Ramierezolivo and Battaway Towing LLC. The defendants moved the case from New York state court to federal court, but the complaint did not state the amount of damages sought.
The federal court questioned whether the removal followed the required timing and documentation rules. The complaint was served on September 8, 2022, and the defendants said they removed the case after defense counsel reviewed medical records on October 21 and first believed the case could exceed $75,000.
Judge Valerie Caproni ordered that the case would be sent back to the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of Bronx, on November 22, 2022, unless the defendants submitted further evidence by November 21 showing that more than $75,000 was at stake. The opinion does not state what happened after that deadline.
The detailed version
- Ramos v. Ramierezolivo · No. 1:22-cv-09723
- Valerie Caproni
- Nov. 18, 2022
Background
Migdalia Ramos and Juan Ramos brought this case against Willy Ramierezolivo and Battaway Towing LLC. The defendants removed the case from the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of Bronx, to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
On November 16, 2022, the court ordered the defendants to explain why the case should not be sent back to state court. Federal law generally requires a notice of removal to be filed within 30 days after the defendant receives the initial pleadings, or, when removability is not apparent from those pleadings, within 30 days after receiving a later document showing that the case can be heard in federal court.
Court’s analysis
The defendants attached the complaint and their answer to their response to the order to show cause, but they did not explain why those documents had not been included with the notice of removal. The complaint had been served on September 8, 2022, and did not state the amount of damages sought.
The defendants said defense counsel did not review the plaintiffs’ medical records until being assigned to the case on October 21, 2022. They stated that the case was removed after the first indication that its value could exceed $75,000. The court found that this conclusory statement did not establish that the amount-in-controversy requirement for federal jurisdiction was met. The court explained that medical records may be used to determine the amount in controversy, but those records must be included in the case record, along with supplementary submissions or estimates showing that the damages exceed the jurisdictional limit.
Ruling
Judge Valerie Caproni ordered that the case will be remanded to the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of Bronx, on Tuesday, November 22, 2022, unless the defendants provide further evidence by Monday, November 21, 2022, establishing that the amount-in-controversy requirement is satisfied. The opinion does not report whether the defendants later submitted additional evidence or whether the remand occurred.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.