Robison v. Castello

• Decision Date: 07 September 1971
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 71-211.
• Citation: 331 F. Supp. 667
• Parties: Melodie ROBISON, wife of/and Warren T. Robison, individually and on behalf of their minor children, John W. Robison and Tom T. Robison v. Thomas A. CASTELLO and State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Louisiana

331 F. Supp. 667

Melodie ROBISON, wife of/and Warren T. Robison, individually and on behalf of their minor children, John W. Robison and Tom T. Robison v. Thomas A. CASTELLO and State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co.

Civ. A. No. 71-211.

United States District Court, E. D. Louisiana, New Orleans Division.

September 7, 1971.

David Gertler, of Steven R. Plotkin Law Office, New Orleans, La., for plaintiffs.

Crawford A. Rose, Jr., Delhi, La., for defendants.

CHRISTENBERRY, District Judge.

This diversity suit was instituted to satisfy damages allegedly arising from an automobile accident that occurred in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, on the night of February 11, 1970. The subject of this ruling is a motion brought under rule 12(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure by State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., codefendant, to dismiss all claims against said insurance company for want of the jurisdictional amount required by 28 U. S.C. § 1332 (1964).

The facts in this case indicate that plaintiffs Melodie Robison and her minor children, John W. Robison and Tom T. Robison, were guest passengers in a 1967 Chevrolet automobile owned by Edwina Yandle and operated by Mrs. Yandle's husband, William E. Yandle, when the Yandle vehicle was involved in a collision with a 1961 Cadillac automobile owned and operated by codefendant Thomas A. Castello.

Since defendant Castello did not have liability insurance, the plaintiffs have proceeded against him and the insurer of the Yandle vehicle, State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. (hereinafter called State Farm). There are, however, according to the petition, two State Farm policies under which plaintiffs assert claims: First, there was a liability insurance policy which was issued to Edwina Yandle and which was in effect at the time of the accident. Under the uninsured motorist provisions of this policy, Melodie Robison claims damages jointly against State Farm and Castello in the amount of $50,000. Similarly, her minor children, John W. and Tom T. Robison, each claim damages of $3,000 jointly against State Farm and Castello. Secondly, there was a family automobile insurance policy issued by State Farm to Warren T. Robison which was in effect at the time of the accident, and it is under the medical payments provisions of this policy that he asserts a claim for $5,000.

The plaintiffs are all Illinois citizens and defendant Castello is a Louisiana citizen. State Farm is a foreign corporation licensed to do business in Louisiana.

In moving to dismiss, State Farm contends that since the uninsured motorist coverage of the Yandle policy provides only for payment of up to $5,000 for each person and maximum payment of $10,000 for each accident, the requirement that "the matter in controversy exceed the sum or value of $10,000, exclusive of interest and costs * * *" is lacking.

Plaintiffs argue, on the other hand, that the amount in controversy vis-a-vis State Farm is $15,000, a figure apparently reached, according to the petition (paragraph 20), by aggregating the Yandle policy with the medical payments coverage of the Robison policy. Subsequently, in a memorandum of law in opposition to the motion to dismiss, plaintiffs' counsel states that "plaintiffs' claims all arise out of one automobile liability policy." The disposition of this motion, however, is not affected by this discrepancy.

In order for two or more plaintiffs suing in diversity to aggregate their claims in one suit so as to satisfy the jurisdictional amount requirement, the general rule is that

"the plaintiffs must have `a common and individual interest,' though it may be separable as between themselves. But where their interests are distinct, and their only relationship is that `they form a class of parties whose rights or liabilities arose out of the same transaction, or have a relation to a common fund or mass or property sought to be administered, such distinct demands or liabilities cannot be aggregated * * *.' Clay v. Field, 138 U.S. 464, 11 S.Ct. 419, 34 L.Ed. 1044 (1891)."

Eagle Star Insurance Co. v. Maltes, 313 F.2d 778, 780 (5th Cir. 1963); see Pinel v. Pinel, 240 U.S. 594, 596, 36 S.Ct. 416, 60 L.Ed. 817 (1916). It is also settled law that several plaintiffs injured in the same automobile accident have separate and distinct claims with the result that jurisdiction cannot be obtained by the aggregation of their claims. Eagle Star Insurance Co. v. Maltes, supra, 313 F.2d at 779-780; Payne v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., 266 F.2d 63, 65 (5th Cir. 1959).

Counsel for plaintiffs argues, however, that the doctrine of pendent jurisdiction should be applied in this case since one plaintiff, Melodie Robison, asserts a claim that meets all requirements of diversity jurisdiction. He argues that to dismiss the three claims that do not fulfill jurisdictional amount requirements would run counter to the liberal intent of the permissive joinder provision of rule 20(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and result in a defeat of judicial economy by a similar suit being filed in state court. The Fifth Circuit has not adopted the pendent or ancillary jurisdiction doctrine for such suits as this and the court is not persuaded that such an expansive view of jurisdiction is warranted in a diversity situation. Eagle Star Insurance Co. v. Maltes, supra, 313 F.2d at 780; see Alvarez v. Pan American Life Insurance Co., 375 F.2d 992, 996-997 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 389 U.S. 827, 88 S.Ct. 74, 19 L.Ed.2d 82 (1967).¹

In Lawes v. Nutter, 292 F.Supp. 890 (S.D.Tex.1968), a district court took the view, which this court feels was proper, that the doctrine of pendent jurisdiction was not applicable to diversity suits. This conclusion is predicated on a careful study of Hurn v. Oursler, 289 U.S. 238, 53 S.Ct. 586, 77 L.Ed. 1148 (1933), and United Mine Workers of America v. Gibbs, 383 U.S. 715, 86 S.Ct. 1130, 16 L.Ed.2d 218 (1966), which illustrate that the discretionary doctrine of pendent jurisdiction should be reserved for cases presenting a substantial federal question along with a non-federal question on the same cause of action between the same parties. The district court in Lawes adopted the reasoning of Olivieri v. Adams, 280 F.Supp. 428, 430 (E.D. Pa.1968), where in disallowing pendent jurisdiction in a diversity suit the court stated:

"The reason underlying the doctrine, the special competence of the federal courts to decide federal questions, simply does not exist in diversity cases in which, under Erie R.R. Co. v. Tompkins 304 U.S. 64, 58 S.Ct. 817, 82 L.Ed. 1188 (1938), federal courts are required to apply state law. The cases before us, of course, involve no federal question claims, they present only state law claims."

Accordingly, the absence of the requirements of diversity jurisdiction dictates that the claims of Tom T. Robison, John W. Robison and Warren T. Robison should be dismissed.

It is also contended that the claim of Melodie Robison against State Farm must be dismissed since the policy limits of the uninsured motorist provisions of the Yandle policy limit recovery to $10,000. The claim of Melodie Robison for damages in the amount of $50,000 is brought against both Castello and State Farm and thus this aspect of the motion to dismiss depends on the relationship between the insurer and the insured.

The issue was recently ruled on by Judge Rubin in Fulton v. White Cab Co., Inc., 305 F.Supp. 1333 (E.D.La.1969). In that case the general rule was properly set forth as follows:

"Where two or more d

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