Judson v. Nissan Motor Co.
| Decision Date | 25 May 1999 |
| Docket Number | Civil Action No. 99-D-24-S. |
| Parties | Danita Dawn JUDSON, Plaintiff, v. NISSAN MOTOR CO., et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Middle District of Alabama |
Jere L. Beasley, Greg Allen, Graham Esdale, Jr., Montgomery, AL, for plaintiff.
Craig P. Niedenthal, Birmingham, AL, Allison O. Skinner, Craig Niedenthal, Birmingham, AL, Joe Cassady, Enterprise, AL, Lee E. Bains, Jr., Jeffrey Grantham, Tony Miller, Birmingham, AL, for respondent.
DE MENT, District Judge.
Before the court is Plaintiff's Motion To Remand ("Remand Mot."), filed on February 1, 1999. Contained within Plaintiff's Motion To Remand is a request for costs and attorney's fees incurred as a result of improper removal, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c), which the court construes as a Motion For Attorney's Fees. On February 17, 1999, Defendant Evenflo Company, Inc. ("Evenflo") filed an Opposition To Remand, which the court construes as a Response ("Response").1 On February 24, 1999, Plaintiff filed her Response To Defendants' Opposition To Plaintiff's Motion To Remand, which the court construes as a Reply ("Reply"). After a thorough review of the arguments of counsel, the relevant law, and the record as a whole, the court finds that Plaintiff's Motion To Remand is due to be granted and that Plaintiff's Motion For Attorney's Fees is due to be denied.
On April 17, 1998, Plaintiff was driving a 1995 Nissan Pathfinder with her son, Derrick Austin Judson ("Derrick"), seated in an Evenflo carseat. (Compl.¶¶ 10-11.) Plaintiff lost control of the vehicle, which subsequently overturned. (Id. ¶ 12.) Derrick was ejected from the vehicle and died as a result of the accident. (Id. ¶ 14.) Plaintiff suffered personal injuries and mental anguish. (Id.)
On or about December 7, 1998, Plaintiff, individually and as the Custodial Parent of Derrick, a minor who is now deceased, filed an eight-count Complaint against Defendants Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. ("Nissan Japan"), Nissan Motor Corporation in USA ("Nissan NA"),2 Mitchell Nissan, Inc. ("Mitchell Nissan"), and Evenflo in the Circuit Court of Dale County, Alabama. In her Complaint, Plaintiff asserts the following claims and demands judgment against the following Defendants: (1) violation of the Alabama Extended Manufacturer's Liability Doctrine ("AEMLD"), demanding judgment against Defendants Nissan Japan and Nissan NA (Counts One and Two);3 (2) negligence, demanding judgment against Defendants Nissan Japan and Nissan NA (Count Three); (3) wantonness, demanding judgment against Defendants Nissan Japan and Nissan NA (Count Four); (4) violation of the AEMLD, demanding judgment against Defendant Evenflo (Count Five); (5) negligence, demanding judgment against Defendant Evenflo (Count Six); (6) wantonness, demanding judgment against Defendant Evenflo (Count Seven) and (7) negligence, wantonness, or other wrongful conduct, demanding judgment against Defendants Nissan Japan, Nissan NA, Mitchell Nissan, and Evenflo (Count Eight).
On January 8, 1999, Defendant Evenflo timely filed a Notice Of Removal ("Removal Not.") pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1441 and 1446, thereby removing the case to this court. Also on January 8, 1999, Defendant Nissan NA filed a Notice Of Joinder In And Consent To Removal, as did Defendant Mitchell Nissan.4 In support of removal, Defendant Evenflo asserts that this court exercises subject matter jurisdiction over this case through diversity of citizenship and requisite amount in controversy, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332.5 (Removal Not. ¶ 7.)
The following citizenship designations are undisputed by the Parties to this action: (1) Plaintiff is a resident of Dothan, Alabama (Compl. ¶ 1; Removal Not. ¶ 8); (2) Defendant Nissan Japan is a Japanese corporation with its principal place of business in Tokyo, Japan (Compl. ¶ 2; Removal Not. ¶ 11); (3) Defendant Nissan NA is a California corporation with its principal place of business in California (Compl. ¶ 3; Removal Not. ¶ 10); (4) Defendant Mitchell Nissan is an Alabama corporation with its principal place of business in Alabama ; and (5) Defendant Evenflo is an Ohio corporation with its principal place of business in Ohio (Compl. ¶ 5; Removal Not. ¶ 9).
Defendant Evenflo contends, however, that Defendant Mitchell Nissan "has been fraudulently joined, and its citizenship must be disregarded [by the court] for the purposes of determining jurisdiction." (Removal Not. ¶ 12.) Defendant Evenflo argues that "based on the allegations in the Complaint, it is clear that the plaintiff cannot establish any cause of action against the non-diverse defendant, Mitchell Nissan." (Id. ¶ 14.) Defendant Evenflo argues that, but for the fraudulent joinder of Defendant Mitchell Nissan, an Alabama citizen, complete diversity would exist between Plaintiff, an Alabama citizen, and the remaining three Defendants, citizens of either Japan, California, and/or Ohio. (Id. ¶ 6.)
In her Motion To Remand, Plaintiff contends that this court does not have subject matter jurisdiction because, "[c]ontrary to the allegations of Defendant Evenflo Company, Inc., Plaintiff clearly states a cause of action for negligence, wantonness and a claim under the AEMLD against Defendant, Mitchell Nissan, Inc. in her Complaint." (Remand Mot. at 1-2.) Further, Plaintiff argues that "Defendants have not and can not [sic] establish fraudulent joinder in this case." (Reply at 3.)
Removal of a case from state to federal court is proper if the case could have been brought originally in federal court. See 28 U.S.C. § 1441(a). A federal district court may assert jurisdiction in a case involving citizens of different states where the amount in controversy, exclusive of interest and costs, exceeds $75,000.00. See 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a). "Diversity jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332 requires complete diversity — every plaintiff must be diverse from every defendant." Tapscott v. MS Dealer Serv. Corp., 77 F.3d 1353, 1359 (11th Cir.1996). Therefore, where the parties are diverse and the amount in controversy is sufficient, a defendant has the statutory right to remove an action from state to federal court. See 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a).
It is well-settled that the defendant, as the party removing an action to federal court, has the burden to establish federal jurisdiction. See Diaz v. Sheppard, 85 F.3d 1502, 1505 (11th Cir .1996). Removal statutes must be strictly construed because of the significant federalism concerns raised by removal jurisdiction. See Shamrock Oil & Gas Corp. v. Sheets, 313 U.S. 100, 61 S.Ct. 868, 85 L.Ed. 1214 (1941); Seroyer v. Pfizer, Inc., 991 F.Supp. 1308, 1312 (M.D.Ala.1997) (DeMent, J.). Therefore, "[i]f at any time before final judgment it appears that the district court lacks subject matter jurisdiction, the case shall be remanded." 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c). "All doubts [and uncertainties] about federal court jurisdiction must be resolved in favor of a remand to state court." Seroyer, 991 F.Supp. at 1312 (citing Burns v. Windsor Ins. Co., 31 F.3d 1092, 1095 (11th Cir.1994)); see also Shamrock Oil, 313 U.S. 100, 61 S.Ct. 868, 85 L.Ed. 1214; Diaz, 85 F.3d at 1505; Coker v. Amoco Oil Co., 709 F.2d 1433 (11th Cir.1983); Stone v. Williams, 792 F.Supp. 749 (M.D.Ala.1992).
As the Supreme Court has long recognized, a defendant's "right of removal cannot be defeated by a fraudulent joinder of a resident defendant having no real connection with the controversy." Wilson v. Republic Iron & Steel Co., 257 U.S. 92, 97, 42 S.Ct. 35, 66 L.Ed. 144 (1921). The Eleventh Circuit has articulated that joinder may be deemed fraudulent in three situations:
The first is when there is no possibility that the plaintiff can prove a cause of action against the resident (non-diverse) defendant.... The second is when there is outright fraud in the plaintiff's pleading of jurisdictional facts.... [A] third situation of fraudulent joinder was identified — i.e., where a diverse defendant is joined with a nondiverse defendant as to whom there is no joint, several or alternative liability and where the claim against the diverse defendant has no real connection to the claim against the nondiverse defendant.
Triggs v. John Crump Toyota, Inc., 154 F.3d 1284, 1287 (11th Cir.1998) (citations omitted).
"The removing party bears the burden of proving that the joinder of the resident defendant was fraudulent." Cabalceta v. Standard Fruit Co., 883 F.2d 1553, 1561 (11th Cir.1989) (citing Coker v. Amoco Oil Co., 709 F.2d 1433, 1440 (11th Cir.1983)); see also Crowe v. Coleman, 113 F.3d 1536, 1538 (11th Cir.1997) (citing Cabalceta). The burden on the defendant is a "heavy one." Crowe, 113 F.3d at 1538. "[T]he district court must evaluate the factual allegations in the light most favorable to the plaintiff and must resolve any uncertainties about state substantive law in favor of the plaintiff." Id.; see also Coker, 709 F.2d at 1440 (citing Bobby Jones Garden Apts., Inc. v. Suleski, 391 F.2d 172, 177 (5th Cir.1968)).6 "If there is even a possibility that a state court would find that the complaint states a cause of action against any one of the resident defendants, the federal court must find that the joinder was proper and remand the case to the state court." Coker, 709 F.2d at 1440-41 (citing Parks v. New York Times, Co., 308 F.2d 474, 477-78 (5th Cir.1962)). In addressing fraudulent joinder, the court may consider both affidavits and deposition excerpts. See Cabalceta, 883 F.2d at 1561; Coker, 709 F.2d at 1440.
Here, the court must determine whether Defendant Mitchell Nissan was fraudulently joined. Arguing in favor of fraudulent joinder, Defendant Evenflo sets forth two distinct, but related, arguments: (1) Defendant Evenflo contends that Plaintiff has failed to state a cause of action under the AEMLD against resident Defendant Mitchell Nissan; and ...
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