Opinion
2:22-cv-01629-APG-BNW
10-17-2022
KENNETH HICKERSON, Plaintiff v. WESTGATE LAS VEGAS RESORT, LLC, Defendant
ORDER REMANDING CASE FOR LACK OF SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION
ANDREW P. GORDON UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
Defendant Westgate Las Vegas Resort, LLC removed this action from state court based on diversity jurisdiction. ECF No. 1. Westgate did not submit evidence that the amount in controversy requirement is satisfied, so I ordered it to do so. ECF No. 5. Westgate responded by submitting a demand letter the plaintiff sent in January 2021. ECF No. 8-2. “A settlement letter is relevant evidence of the amount in controversy if it appears to reflect a reasonable estimate of the plaintiff's claim.” Cohn v. Petsmart, Inc., 281 F.3d 837, 840 (9th Cir. 2002). That letter requests $100,000.00 but identifies only $8,745.37 in medical bills and states that other categories of damages are to be determined. Id. The letter does not provide a sufficient basis for me to conclude by a preponderance of the evidence that $100,000.00 is a reasonable estimate of the plaintiff's claim based on the limited information presented. Consequently, I remand the case to state court.
I THEREFORE ORDER that this case is remanded to the state court from which it was removed for all further proceedings. The clerk of court is instructed to close this case.