Summary
The court grants the plaintiff's motion to remand a diversity action arising from an automobile accident. It holds that removal was barred because a defendant was a Florida citizen, the claims were not separate and independent under 28 U.S.C. § 1441(c), and the defendant corporation's dissolution did not eliminate its Florida citizenship for diversity purposes.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether removal was barred by 28 U.S.C. § 1441(b) because DeMaria was a citizen of Florida, the state in which the action was brought.
- Whether the claim against Volkswagen of America was separate and independent from the claim against DeMaria within the meaning of 28 U.S.C. § 1441(c).
- Whether DeMaria's dissolution eliminated the statutory bar to removal or otherwise changed its citizenship for diversity purposes.
Holdings
- Removal was barred because DeMaria was and remained a Florida corporate citizen, and only diversity of citizenship supplied a potential basis for federal jurisdiction.
- The claims were not separate and independent because the complaint alleged one actionable wrong arising from one accident involving one vehicle and sought only one recovery.
- DeMaria's dissolution did not eliminate the bar to removal; under Florida law, the corporation remained subject to suit and remained a Florida citizen for purposes of the action.
Key quotations
“where there is a single wrong to plaintiff, for which relief is sought, arising from an interlocked series of transactions, there is no separate and independent claim or cause of action under § 1441(c).” (532 F. Supp. at 1037)
“The single wrong for which plaintiff seeks relief is the negligence of the defendants which allegedly caused his injuries.” (532 F. Supp. at 1037)
“The action in American National Bank was not commenced until after the corporation had been dissolved where the action in this case was commenced before dissolution.” (532 F. Supp. at 1038)
Factual background
The action arose from a 1976 automobile accident involving one vehicle. Vincent sued DeMaria, a Florida corporation, and Volkswagen entities, asserting different theories of recovery concerning the vehicle and seeking recovery for a single injury. The state-court action was commenced in 1979, before DeMaria dissolved on December 8, 1980.
Procedural history
Cynthia Vincent commenced the action in the Circuit Court of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida, in and for Dade County, against DeMaria Porsche-Audi, Inc., Volkswagen of America, Inc., and Volkswagenwerk, A.G. Volkswagen of America removed the action, asserting that its claim was separate and independent from the claim against the Florida defendant and that DeMaria's dissolution eliminated the bar to removal. The federal district court granted the motion to remand.
Remand instructions
The action was remanded to the Circuit Court of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida, in and for Dade County. Motions filed in the federal court after removal were rendered moot, and the parties were advised to refile any desired motions in state court.