Cherkin et al v. GEICO General Insurance Company et al
Filing
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ORDER granting Plaintiffs' 15 Motion to Remand. Per LCR 3(i), case will be remanded 14 days from the date of this Order, on 10/10/2019. Signed by Judge Richard A. Jones.(MW)
HONORABLE RICHARD A. JONES
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT SEATTLE
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EMILY B. CHERKIN and BENJAMIN
GITENSTEIN,
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v.
GEICO GENERAL INSURANCE
COMPANY, a foreign insurer; JACLYN
SEIFERT and JOHN DOE SEIFERT; and
LAWRENCE H. BORK and JANE DOE
BORK, and their marital community,
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ORDER GRANTING
PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION
TO REMAND
Defendants.
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Case No. 2:18-cv-00839-RAJ
Plaintiffs,
I.
INTRODUCTION
This matter is before the Court on Plaintiffs’ motion to remand. Dkt. # 15. For the
reasons below, the Court GRANTS Plaintiffs’ motion.
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II. BACKGROUND
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This case arises out of a motor vehicle accident that occurred on April 27, 2014.
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Dkt. #1-2 at ¶ 4.2. After settlement of their claims against the at-fault driver, Plaintiffs
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requested that Defendant GEICO pay benefits pursuant to their underinsured motorist
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(“UIM”) policy. During the course of the investigation of the plaintiffs’ UIM claim, two
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GEICO employees, Defendants Jaclyn Seifert and Lawrence Bork, worked on the
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Plaintiffs’ claim as adjusters. See, e.g., Dkt. ##1-2 at ¶¶ 1.3, 1.4, 5.11, 5.13. After GEICO
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refused to pay any benefits pursuant to Plaintiffs’ UIM policy, Plaintiffs initiated an action
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ORDER – 1
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in the King County Superior Court on May 2, 2018. Id. at 17.
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Defendants filed a notice of removal on June 11, 2018. Dkt. # 1. Defendants then
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filed Motion to Dismiss Defendants Jaclyn Seifert and Lawrence Bork on June 15, 2018.
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Dkt. # 5. Plaintiffs responded to the motion and Defendants filed a reply. See Dkt. ## 9-
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12. On December 27, 2018, the Court entered an order denying Defendants’ Motion to
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Dismiss and ordering Defendants to Show Cause “why this case should not be remanded
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to state court.” Dkt. # 13. Specifically, the Court noted that the Washington Court of
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Appeals in Keodalah v. Allstate Ins. Co., 3 Wn. App. 2d 31 (2018), held that insurance
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adjusters can be individually liable for bad faith and CPA claims. Id. at 40–43. Plaintiffs
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bring bad faith and CPA claims against all Defendants. Given the conclusion that Seifert
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and Bork should not be dismissed as Defendants in this matter, the Court stated that case
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lacks the complete diversity of citizenship required for federal jurisdiction and issued an
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order to show cause as to why this case should not be remanded to state court. On April 4,
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2019, Plaintiff filed a motion to remand, which is currently before the Court. Dkt. # 15.
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III. DISCUSSION
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Removal jurisdiction is strictly construed in favor of remand and any doubt as to the
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right of removal must be resolved in favor of remand. Harris v. Bankers Life & Cas. Co.,
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425 F.3d 689, 698 (9th Cir. 2005). The party seeking a federal forum has the burden of
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establishing that federal jurisdiction is proper. Abrego Abrego v. Dow Chem. Co., 443 F.3d
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676, 682-83 (9th Cir. 2006). The removing party must carry this burden not only at the
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time of removal, but also in opposition to a motion for remand. See Moore-Thomas v.
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Alaska Airlines, Inc., 553 F.3d 1241, 1244 (9th Cir. 2009). Pursuant to the “well-pleaded
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complaint rule,” federal-question jurisdiction exists “only when a federal question is
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presented on the face of the plaintiff’s properly pleaded complaint.” Caterpillar Inc. v.
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Williams, 482 U.S. 386, 392 (1987).
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Defendants assert that this Court has jurisdiction over this matter based on diversity
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of citizenship of the parties. Dkt. # 1. The Court has diversity jurisdiction over civil actions
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ORDER – 2
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where the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000 and the case is between citizens of
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different states. 28 U.S.C. § 1332. Plaintiffs and Defendants Seifert and Bork are all
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citizens of Washington. As a result, the requirements for diversity jurisdiction have not
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been met. As they did in their motion to dismiss, Defendants argue that Seifert and Bork
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are dispensable parties and thus should be dropped under Rule 21. Dkt. # 16 at 2.
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Defendants argue that there is no basis on which to distinguish Seifert’s and Bork’s
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liabilities separate and apart from GEICO because they are alleged to be representatives of
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GEICO on Plaintiffs’ insurance claim. Id. at 3. (“Plaintiffs do not allege facts that would
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allow a finding of violations against the individual employees but not find against GEICO
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as stated above, there are no allegations that Seifert or Bork acted outside the scope of their
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employment.”).
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The Court again concludes that Seifert and Bork are not dispensable parties.
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Plaintiffs brought this case against them based on a viable state law. See Keodalah v.
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Allstate Ins. Co., 3 Wn. App. 2d 31 (2018) (holding that insurance adjusters can be
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individually liable for bad faith and CPA claims). Plaintiffs bring bad faith and CPA claims
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against all Defendants. Accordingly, there is no diversity of citizenship and this Court
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lacks jurisdiction over this action.
IV. CONCLUSION
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For the reasons stated above, the Court GRANTS Plaintiffs’ motion. Dkt. # 15.
The Court hereby REMANDS this case to King County Superior Court.
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DATED this 26th day of September, 2019.
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The Honorable Richard A. Jones
United States District Judge
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ORDER – 3
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