Ramapo Rockland Corp. v. MERCHANTS & BM MUT. INS. CO.

• Decision Date: 12 November 1957
• Citation: Ramapo Rockland Corp. v. MERCHANTS & BM MUT. INS. CO., 156 F. Supp. 311 (S.D. N.Y. 1957)
• Parties: RAMAPO ROCKLAND CORPORATION and Harry Schwartz Yarn Co., Inc., Plaintiffs, v. MERCHANTS AND BUSINESS MEN'S MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY and Robert J. Murray, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York

156 F. Supp. 311

RAMAPO ROCKLAND CORPORATION and Harry Schwartz Yarn Co., Inc., Plaintiffs, v.MERCHANTS AND BUSINESS MEN'S MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY and Robert J. Murray, Defendants.

United States District Court S. D. New York.

November 12, 1957.

Powers, Kaplan & Berger, New York City, by David A. Ticktin, and Robert Fishbein, New York City, of counsel, for plaintiffs.

Max J. Gwertzman, New York City, for defendant, Merchants & Business Men's Mut. Ins. Co.

EDELSTEIN, District Judge.

This is a motion under 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c) to remand a removed action to the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York.The complaint pleads four causes of action by two plaintiffs, one a New York corporation and the other a New Jersey corporation.The first and second causes of action are pleaded by both plaintiffs against the defendant Pennsylvania corporation, and the third and fourth causes of action are by both plaintiffs against the defendant Pensylvania corporation and the individual defendant who is a citizen of the State of New Jersey.Thus, in the third and fonrth causes of action, complete diversity is lacking between all plaintiffs and all defendants, one of the plaintiffs and one of the defendants being citizens of New Jersey.

Under § 1441(c) of Title 28, this court has jurisdiction to try and determine the issues in the causes of action lacking diversity if they are joined with one or more "separate and independent" claims or causes of action that would be removable if sued upon alone.But in order to avoid the confusion surrounding the concept of severability involved in the former § 71 of Title 23, the courts must give a broad meaning to "cause of action".SeeMoore's Commentary on the U. S. Judicial Code, p. 238.The four causes of...