Rodriguez v. Family Dollar # 6732

Filing 3

ORDER: The Clerk is directed to remand this case to the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit, in and for Hillsborough County, Florida. The Clerk is further directed to terminate any previously scheduled deadlines, and thereafter close this case. Signed by Judge Virginia M. Hernandez Covington on 6/9/2017. (DMD)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
TAMPA DIVISION
ZACARIAS RODRIGUEZ,
Plaintiff,
v.

Case No. 8:17-cv-1340-T-33JSS

FAMILY DOLLAR # 6732,
Defendant.
_____________________________/
ORDER
This cause comes before the Court sua sponte. For the
reasons that follow, this case is remanded to the Thirteenth
Judicial Circuit, in and for Hillsborough County, Florida.
Discussion
This action was removed to this Court from the Thirteenth
Judicial Circuit, in and for Hillsborough County, Florida on
June 6, 2017, on the basis of diversity jurisdiction. (Doc.
#

1).

When

jurisdiction

is

premised

upon

diversity

of

citizenship, 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a) requires among other things
that “the matter in controversy exceeds the sum or value of
$75,000,

exclusive

jurisdictional

amount

of
is

interest
not

and

costs.”

facially

apparent

If
from

“the
the

complaint, the court should look to the notice of removal and
may require evidence relevant to the amount in controversy at

1

the time the case was removed.” Williams v. Best Buy Co., 269
F.3d

1316,

unspecified,

1319

(11th

the

Cir.

removing

2001).

party

When

bears

“damages

the

burden

are
of

establishing the jurisdictional amount by a preponderance of
the evidence.” Lowery v. Ala. Power Co., 483 F.3d 1184, 1208
(11th Cir. 2007).
The

Complaint

does

not

state

a

specified

claim

to

damages. (Doc. # 2 at ¶ 1)(“This is an action for damages
that exceeds Fifteen Thousand Dollars ($15,000), exclusive of
interest,

costs

and

attorneys’

fees.”).

Instead,

Family

Dollar relies on a pre-suit demand letter to establish that
the amount in controversy exceeds the $75,000 jurisdictional
threshold. (Doc. # 1 at 8-9). In that letter, Plaintiff
Zacarias Rodriguez demanded $249,000 in settlement for a fall
he suffered in a Family Dollar store. (Doc. # 1-7 at 2).
Because the demand letter outlines damages in excess of
$75,000, Family Dollar contends that it has established the
amount in controversy by the preponderance of the evidence.
The Court disagrees. Demand letters do not automatically
establish the amount in controversy. Lamb v. State Farm Fire
Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., No.3:10-cv-615-J-32JRK, 2010 WL 6790539,
at *2 (M.D. Fla. Nov. 5, 2010)(stating that demand letters
and settlement offers “do not automatically establish the

2

amount

in

controversy

for

purposes

of

diversity

jurisdiction”); Piazza v. Ambassador II JV, L.P., No. 8:10cv-1582-T-23EAJ, 2010 WL 2889218, at *1 (M.D. Fla. July 21,
2010)(same). Rather, courts evaluate whether demand letters
“‘reflect puffing and posturing’” or “whether they provide
‘specific information to support the plaintiff’s claim for
damages.’” Lamb, 2010 WL 6790539, at *2 (quoting Jackson v.
Select Portfolio Servicing, Inc., 651 F. Supp. 2d 1279, 1281
(S.D. Ala. 2009)).
A

review

of

the

pre-suit

demand

letter

shows

that

Rodriguez has only incurred $46,025 in medical expenses thus
far.

(Doc.

hypothetical
doctors

#

1-7

future

at

“suggests

2-6).

medical
epidural

The

remaining

expenses:
nerve

one

blocks,

of

damages

are

Rodriguez’s

myelogram,

and

surgery at the approximate cost of $65,000.” (Id. at 2). As
only $46,025 in economic damages have been incurred, with the
remaining damages speculative, the letter’s demand for an
amount over the $75,000 is an aggressive negotiating tactic
rather

than

an

accurate

assessment

of

the

amount

in

controversy.
In sum, the record does not show by a preponderance of
the evidence that the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000.
The Complaint alleges a nonspecific amount and the pre-suit

3

demand letter is mere posturing because it presents only
proven damages of approximately $46,025, while speculating
that future medical costs will push the total damages beyond
the $75,000 threshold. As such, the Court determines Family
Dollar

has

not

sufficiently

demonstrated

that

the

jurisdictional amount in controversy has not been satisfied.
Accordingly, this case is remanded to the Thirteenth Judicial
Circuit, in and for Hillsborough County, Florida.
Accordingly, it is
ORDERED, ADJUDGED, and DECREED:
(1)

The

Clerk

is

directed

to

REMAND

this

case

to

the

Thirteenth Judicial Circuit, in and for Hillsborough
County, Florida.
(2)

The

Clerk

is

further

directed

to

terminate

any

previously scheduled deadlines, and thereafter CLOSE
THIS CASE.
DONE and ORDERED in Chambers in Tampa, Florida, this 9th
day of June, 2017.

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