Pollas v. United Parcel Service, Inc.

Background

Robert Pollas brought this action against United Parcel Service, Inc. The opinion identifies Pollas as representing himself. UPS removed the action to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York based on diversity jurisdiction.

The court had previously extended Pollas’s deadline to file an amended complaint to August 25, 2023. Pollas had not filed an amended complaint or otherwise communicated with the court by the time of this order. As a result, UPS was the only defendant in the action.

Motion to Remand

Pollas filed a motion to remand, asking the federal court to return the action to state court. The court determined that complete diversity existed because Pollas was a citizen of New York, while UPS was incorporated in Ohio and had its principal place of business in Atlanta, Georgia. The court also determined that the amount in controversy exceeded $75,000. Based on those findings, the court concluded that the action had been properly removed under the federal diversity-jurisdiction statutes.

The court noted that adding Pollas’s coworkers as defendants could eliminate diversity jurisdiction if any coworker and Pollas were citizens of the same state. Because Pollas had not filed an amended complaint, however, the court could not remand the action at that time.

Ruling

Judge Ona T. Wang denied Pollas’s motion to remand without prejudice. The order did not state that the action itself was dismissed. The court permitted Pollas to file an amended complaint by September 20, 2023. It also directed UPS to serve Pollas with the order and file proof of service, and directed the Clerk of Court to close the docket entry for the remand motion.