Fox v. Colorado Casualty Insurance Company

Filing 15

ORDER Denying 9 Motion to Remand to State Court. Signed by Chief Judge Robert C. Jones on 3/11/13. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - EDS)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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DISTRICT OF NEVADA

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LORI FOX,

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This case arises out of an insurance company’s alleged refusal to pay the full policy limits

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under an underinsured motorist (“UIM”) policy. Pending before the Court is a motion to remand.

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For the reasons given herein, the Court denies the motion.

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I.

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Plaintiff,
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vs.
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COLORADO CASUALTY INSURANCE CO.,
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Defendant.

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2:12-cv-01591-RCJ-CWH
ORDER

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Plaintiff Lori Fox was involved in a car accident with a drunk driver on March 11, 2011,

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at which time she had an active UIM policy (the “Policy”) issued by Defendant Colorado

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Casualty Insurance Co. (“CCIC”) providing coverage of $100,000 per person, $300,000 per

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incident, and $10,000 in medical payments. (Compl. ¶¶ 10–11, Sept. 7, 2012, ECF No. 1-1; Mot.

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Remand 9:24–27, Sept. 25, 2012, ECF No. 9). On or about April 3, 2012, Plaintiff made a policy

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limits demand on Defendant though her attorney, but Defendant refused to pay anything except

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the $10,000 in medical payments. (Compl. ¶ 12; Mot. Remand 9:27–10:3).

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Plaintiff sued Defendant in state Court on three causes of action: (1) breach of contract;

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(2) bad faith; and (3) unfair claims practices, asking for compensatory, consequential, and

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punitive damages, attorney’s fees, and costs. Defendant removed. Plaintiff has moved to remand

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for failure to satisfy the amount-in-controversy requirement.

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II.

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LEGAL STANDARDS
Assuming complete diversity, federal courts have jurisdiction over state claw claims

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where the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000. See 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a). Where a complaint

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specifies no precise amount of damages, a removing defendant bears the burden of showing by a

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preponderance of the evidence that the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000. See Sanchez v.

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Monumental Life Ins. Co., 102 F.3d 398, 403–04 (9th Cir. 1996).

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III.

ANALYSIS
The Court is convinced by a preponderance of the evidence that the amount in

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controversy exceeds $75,000. The question is not answered by the amount prayed for in a

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complaint. In Nevada, a plaintiff must include in her complaint a recital that she seeks in excess

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of $10,000 in order to invoke the general jurisdiction of the district court and avoid the limited

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jurisdiction of the justice court, whether she in fact seeks $10,000.01 or $10,000,000,000. That

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number is therefore meaningless to the amount-in-controversy for the purposes of a diversity

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analysis. Nor is it relevant that a defendant has denied liability outright, i.e., that its liability is

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$0. A defendant need not admit liability of at least $75,000 in state court (or elsewhere) in order

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to preserve the statutory ability to remove such that the price of the right to remove is $75,000.

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And under the language of the statute, any amount paid would be removed from “controversy.”

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Nor is it relevant that a plaintiff has offered to settle for a fixed amount below $75,000. The

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question is whether it is more probable than not that the plaintiff, if she prevails on the theories

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she has alleged in her complaint, can recover more than $75,000 in damages, fees, and costs.

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That is the definition of the amount in controversy.

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Here, because Plaintiff has alleged that she demanded Defendant pay the limits on the

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Policy, and because those limits were for $100,000, it is incredibly unlikely that Plaintiff will not

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ask the jury for an award in this amount in compensatory damages alone under the breach of

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contract claim, to say nothing of the bad faith and unfair claims practices tort claims, punitive

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damages, and attorney’s fees. Plaintiff is more likely than not to receive a verdict of over

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$75,000 if she prevails on her claims.

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CONCLUSION

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IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Motion to Remand (ECF No. 9) is DENIED.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

10 Dated this 11th day of March, 2013.
Dated this 27th day of September, 2012.
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_____________________________________
ROBERT C. JONES
United States District Judge

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