Trotter v. Fireman's Fund Insurance Company

Full title: BEAU TROTTER ET AL v. FIREMAN'S FUND INSURANCE COMPANY

Court: United States District Court, E.D. Louisiana

Date published: Oct 31, 2008

CIVIL ACTION NO: 08-836, SECTION: "J"(5) (E.D. La. Oct. 31, 2008)

Opinion

CIVIL ACTION NO: 08-836, SECTION: "J"(5).

October 31, 2008

ORDER

CARL BARBIER, District Judge

Before the Court are Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment (Rec. Doc. 22) and Plaintiffs' Motion to Remand (Rec. Doc. 24). Having reviewed the motions, the memoranda of counsel, and applicable law, the Court finds as follows.

Plaintiffs' Motion to Remand based on a stipulation that their claims are worth less than $75,000 is inappropriate based on the Fifth Circuit's holding in Marcel v. Pool Co., 5 F.3d 81, 85 (5^th Cir. 1993). The Marcel court held that "though, as here, the plaintiff after removal, by stipulation, by affidavit, or by amendment of his pleadings, reduces the claim below the requisite amount, this does not deprive the district court of jurisdiction." Id. Accordingly,

IT IS ORDERED that Plaintiffs' Motion to Remand (Rec. Doc. 24) is DENIED.

The Court also finds, based on the pleadings, the discovery and disclosure materials in the present summary judgment record, that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact regarding Plaintiffs' claims and that Defendant Fireman's Fund Insurance Company is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Accordingly,

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment (Rec. Doc. 22) is hereby GRANTED and that Plaintiff's claims in the above-captioned matter are hereby DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.