Opinion
Case No. 15-cv-00113-JD
05-01-2015
JAMES DEWAR, Plaintiff, v. ANTHONY DAVID, Defendant.
ORDER DENYING REMAND
Re: Dkt. No. 51
Plaintiff James Dewar asks to remand this case back to the Circuit Court of Cook County in Illinois, where he originally filed it. Dkt. No. 51 at 1. Defendant removed under 28 U.S.C. § 1441(b), which creates federal jurisdiction when the parties are from different states and the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000.
After Dewar filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County, defendant Anthony David removed the case to the Northern District of Illinois and filed a motion to dismiss, or in the alternative, to transfer to the Northern District of California. Dkt. Nos. 1, 10. The motion to transfer was granted. Dkt. No. 24.
Mr. Dewar contends that the amount in controversy does not meet the required threshold because "the crux of what [he] seeks to accomplish by this action is to obtain an accounting of the Trust." Id. at 4. While that might be the crux of plaintiff's goals in this case, his argument ignores the fact that the First Amended Complaint ("FAC") includes, among other demands, a request for a declaratory judgment for the "remaining principal in the Trust." FAC ¶ 64, Dkt. No. 20-1. When an action seeks declaratory relief, "it is well established that the amount in controversy is measured by the value of the object of the litigation." Cohn v. Petsmart, Inc., 281 F.3d 837, 840 (9th Cir. 2002) (quoting Hunt v. Wash. State Apple Adver. Comm'n, 432 U.S. 333, 347 (1977)); see also Chapman v. Deutsche Bank Nat. Trust Co., 651 F.3d 1039, 1045 (9th Cir. 2011) (determining that the amount in controversy was equal to the assessment value of the "object in litigation," or property). When Mr. Dewar filed his FAC on March 13, 2013, the trust account exceeded $500,000.00. Dkt. No. 1; David Decl. ¶ 14, Dkt. No. 54-1. Currently, the value is approximately $920,000.000. Id. ¶ 15. Because the "object in litigation" is, in part, the remaining principal in the trust, and the amount of the principal exceeds the required $75,000, jurisdiction is proper.
IT IS SO ORDERED. Dated: May 1, 2015
/s/_________
JAMES DONATO
United States District Judge