Brady R. Hunt et al. v. State Farm Fire and Casualty Company et al.

Summary

The United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma grants Plaintiffs Brady R. Hunt and Dorothy K. Hunt’s motion to remand. The Court concludes that State Farm failed to establish fraudulent joinder of the nondiverse defendants, Michael Muecke and Mike Muecke Insurance Agency, Inc., because Plaintiffs’ negligent procurement claim was possibly viable under Oklahoma law. The action is remanded to the District Court of Oklahoma County, Oklahoma.

Holdings

1. The similarity of Plaintiffs’ allegations to allegations in other cases, and the number of similar cases filed by their counsel, did not by themselves establish actual fraud in the pleading of jurisdictional facts.
2. State Farm failed to prove with complete certainty that Plaintiffs could not establish a negligent-procurement claim against Muecke in state court.
3. Complete diversity did not exist because Plaintiffs and Defendants Muecke were Oklahoma citizens, and State Farm did not establish that Muecke and his agency were fraudulently joined.

Questions Presented

1. Whether State Farm established actual fraud in Plaintiffs’ pleading of jurisdictional facts.
2. Whether State Farm established with complete certainty that Plaintiffs could not recover against the nondiverse defendants on their negligent-procurement or constructive-fraud/negligent-misrepresentation claims.
3. Whether the citizenship of the nondiverse defendants could be disregarded under the fraudulent-joinder doctrine so that complete diversity existed under 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a).

Disposition

remanded