Moore v. Hartford Casualty Insurance Company et al

Filing 18

ORDER denying 7 Motion to Remand to State Court. Signed by District Judge Debra M. Brown on 4/28/15. (jtm)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF MISSISSIPPI
GREENVILLE DIVISION
DEBRA A. MOORE

PLAINTIFF

V.

NO. 4:14-CV-00162-DMB-JMV

HARTFORD CASUALTY INSURANCE
COMPANY; JOHN DOES 1-5, as Agents,
Servants and Employees of Hartford
Casualty Insurance Company

DEFENDANTS

ORDER DENYING REMAND
Before the Court is Plaintiff’s motion to remand this case to the Circuit Court of Bolivar
County, Mississippi. Doc. #7.
On September 29, 2014, Plaintiff Debra Moore filed suit in state court against Hartford
Casualty Insurance Company and John Does 1-5. Hartford is an Indiana corporation with its
principal place of business in Indiana,1 and Moore is a “resident citizen” of Cleveland,
Mississippi. Doc. #3 at ¶¶ 5–6; Doc. #2 at ¶¶ 3–4. The complaint alleges damages in excess of
$1,000,000. Doc. #2 at 14. On its face, the state court complaint satisfies the jurisdictional
requirements set forth in 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a). Allen v. R & H Oil & Gas Co., 63 F.3d 1326,
1335 (5th Cir. 1995).
Moore has not offered any evidence refuting the jurisdictional allegations. She argues
only that, in the future, she could discover that the citizenship of the fictitious Doe defendants
destroys diversity. Moore’s prophecy may well prove to be correct but this Court will not now
decide the issue of jurisdiction based on that future possibility. See 28 U.S.C. §§ 1441(b) (“In
determining whether a civil action is removable on the basis of the jurisdiction under section

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Defendant alleges that Hartford was incorporated in Indiana, while Plaintiff’s state court complaint alleges
Massachusetts. Compare Doc. #3 at ¶ 6, with Doc. #2 at ¶ 4. Diversity of citizenship exists either way.

1332(a) of this title, the citizenship of defendants sued under fictitious names shall be
disregarded.”). Therefore, Plaintiff’s motion to remand [7] is DENIED.
SO ORDERED, this 28th day of April, 2015.
/s/ Debra M. Brown
.
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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