Weaver et al v. Everhome Mortgage Company et al

Filing 18

ORDER: Motion to remand, 14 , denied. Motion to quash, 5 , granted. Amended complaint due by 15 May 2015. Signed by Judge D. P. Marshall Jr. on 4/27/2015. (jak)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS
JONESBORO DIVISION
DANNY L. WEAVER and
STACEY E. WEAVER
v.

PLAINTIFF
No. 3:15-cv-83-DPM

EVERHOME MORTGAGE COMPANY1 and
EVERBANK

DEFENDANT

ORDER
1. TheW eavers' motion to remand is denied. The only fighting issue is
timeliness. The Court agrees with the reasoning and authorities in Everbank's
brief, NQ 17.

While written settlement offers are useful in determining

removal timeliness, the written offer at issue here occurred during the
parties's adversary proceeding before the initial state complaint was filed and
was simply not conclusive enough of the amount in controversy to start
Everbank' s removal clock in this case. Knudson v. Systems Painters, Inc., 634
F.3d 968, 974 (8th Cir. 2011); Wang v. Pacific Cycle, Inc., 530 F. Supp. 2d 1048,
1051-52 (S.D. Iowa2008). Thepost-complaintemailand oral communications
between the parties' lawyers -made outside of court and unsworn- also fall

1

The Court directs the Clerk to correct the docket: Everhome
Mortgage Company merged with Everbank and is no longer a separate
entity. NQ 5 at n.l.

short of being clear and unequivocal notices of removability. See State Farm
Fire & Casualty Co. v. Valspar Corp., 824 F. Supp. 2d 923, 931 (D. S.D. 2010)

(emails); Bajaba, LLC v. General Steel Domestic Sales, LLC, 2014 WL 5363905, at
*2 (W.D. Ark. 21 October 2014) (oral statements). The only firm notice came
through the Weavers' discovery responses.
2. Everbank's motion to quash the requests for admissions is granted.
The problem is the Weavers' complaint. It is not a short and plain statement
of claims; it tries to tell the whole story of the case.

FED.

R. CIV. P. 8(a). The

Court acknowledges the Weavers' burden under Twombly and Igbal to plead
facts, rather than conclusions, but this is just too much. The Court orders the
Weavers to file an amended complaint- a trimmed down, more general, less
particularized short and plain statement. The Court directs Everbank to
respond in kind: admitting everything that it can, based on its now knowing
much about the case. We need to move to the merits now.

* * *
Motion to remand, NQ 14, denied. Motion to quash, NQ 5, granted.
Amended complaint due by 15 May 2015.

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So Ordered.
v
D.P. Marshall Jr.
United States District Judge

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