Rosetta J. Walker v. Fidelity Insurance Agency, Inc., The Guardian Insurance & Annuity Company, Inc. and Aaron Sanderson

Summary

The United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida denied Plaintiff Rosetta J. Walker’s motion to remand an insurance-related action removed from state court. The court held that Defendant Aaron Sanderson was domiciled in Utah, not Florida, and that complete diversity therefore existed despite his nonresident Florida insurance license.

Holdings

1. Sanderson was a citizen of Utah, not Florida, because the totality of the circumstances—including his Utah lease, banking, employment, taxes, voter registration, driver's license, and stated intent to remain indefinitely—established Utah domicile.
2. Complete diversity existed because Sanderson was a Utah citizen, while Walker was a Florida citizen; therefore, the court had diversity jurisdiction and remand was unwarranted.
3. The court could consider Sanderson's post-removal declaration because it clarified a citizenship circumstance that existed when the case was removed.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the court had diversity subject matter jurisdiction when Walker and Sanderson allegedly had Florida connections.
2. Whether Sanderson was domiciled in Utah rather than Florida for purposes of complete diversity.
3. Whether post-removal evidence clarifying Sanderson's domicile could be considered in deciding the motion to remand.

Disposition

other