Angers et al v. Cox Communications Louisiana L L C et al

Filing 13

JURISDICTIONAL Amount Review Ruling. Signed by Magistrate Judge Patrick J Hanna on 7/19/2010. (crt,Kennedy, T)

A n g e r s et al v. Cox Communications Louisiana L L C et al

D o c . 13

U N IT E D STATES DISTRICT COURT W E S T E R N DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA L A F A Y E T T E DIVISION W . THOMAS ANGERS, ET AL V ER SU S C O X COMMUNICATIONS L O U IS I A N A , LLC, ET AL C I V I L ACTION NO. 10-668 J U D G E MELANCON M A G I S T R A T E JUDGE HANNA

O R D E R REGARDING JURISDICTIONAL AMOUNT T h e record shall reflect that this court has conducted a review of the jurisdictional a m o u n t in this case and concludes that it appears the jurisdictional amount exists. Defendants removed this matter from a Louisiana state court on April 23, 2010, a fte r plaintiffs forwarded on April 8, 2010, a settlement demand in excess of the ju r is d ic tio n a l amount necessary for jurisdiction under 28 U. S. C . §1332. 1 T h e Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has held that a post-complaint demand letter m a y be an " o th e r paper" under 28 U. S. C . §1446(b) sufficient to give notice that a case is r em o v ab le. Addo v. Globe Life and Accident Ins. , 230 F. 3 d 759, 762 (5 th Cir. 2000). L o w e r courts have considered settlement demands in determining the amount in c o n tr o v e r s y . 2

1

See Notice of Removal (Rec. Doc. 1), p. 3.

See Norris v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 2006 WL 1476045 (W.D.La. 2006): "Gertrude Gardner, Inc. v. State Farm Automobile Ins. Co., 2003 WL 1873863 (E.D.La.2003) (a settlement offer can be valuable evidence indicating the amount in controversy at the time of removal); Lonon v. Prieto, 2000 WL 913808 (E.D.La.2000) (same); Edwards v. Fred's, Inc., 2005 WL 2106156 (W.D.La.2005) (a demand letter may be considered by the court in determining the true amount in controversy)."

2

Dockets.Justia.com

The petition is silent as to the amount of damages, but plaintiffs are attorneys who a lle g e they suffered monetary damages when they were listed, both personally and p r o fe ss io n a lly , under the letter " W " instead of the letter " A " in the 2008 and 2009 te le p h o n e directories. Considering the allegations of the petition, the Notice of Removal, and the s e ttle m e n t demand, the undersigned finds the amount in controversy likely exceeds s e v e n t y - fiv e thousand ($75, 0 0 0 ) dollars. Signed this 19 th day of July, at Lafayette, Louisiana.