Lotuleiei v. Spinnaker Insurance Company, No. 3:2023cv01980 - Document 20 (N.D. Tex. 2024)
Court Description: ORDER accepting 18 Findings and Recommendations of the U.S. Magistrate Judge. The court denies Plaintiff's 7 Motion to Remand to State Court, and dismisses with prejudice all of his claims asserted against Defendant Bridgett Scott. (Ordered by Judge Sam A. Lindsay on 2/26/2024) (chmb)
Download PDF
<![CDATA[
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS DALLAS DIVISION JOHN LOTULEILEI, Plaintiff, v. SPINNAKER INSURANCE COMPANY and BRIDGETT SCOTT, Defendants. § § § § § § § § § Civil Action No. 3:23-CV-1980-L (BK) ORDER On December 21, 2023, the Findings, Conclusions and Recommendation of the United States Magistrate Judge Renee Toliver (Doc. 18) (“Report”) was entered, recommending that the court should deny Plaintiff John Lotuleilei’s (“Plaintiff”) Motion to Remand (“Motion”) (Doc. 17) based on its determination that nondiverse Defendant Bridget Scott (“Ms. Scott”) was improperly joined. No objections were filed, and the deadline to do so has expired. In March 2022, Plaintiff made a $98,464.74 claim under his homeowners’ policy issued by Defendant Spinnaker Insurance Company (“Spinnaker Insurance”). Doc. 1-1 at 7. Spinnaker Insurance assigned Ms. Scott to investigate the claim. Doc. 1-1 at 7. After Plaintiff’s claim was dismissed, Plaintiff sued Spinnaker Insurance and Ms. Scott in state court for “(1) breach of contract; (2) unfair or deceptive acts or trade practices under Section 541 of the Texas Insurance Code; (3) breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing; and (4) breach of the Prompt Payment of Claims Act.” Report 2 (citing Doc. 1-1 at 8-16). After Plaintiff served Spinnaker Insurance— but before Plaintiff served Ms. Scott—it removed this action based on diversity jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332, “contending that it is an Illinois citizen, Plaintiff is a Texas citizen, and that Order – Page 1 [Ms.] Scott, also a Texas citizen, is improperly joined.” Id. (citing Doc. 1). Plaintiff then filed its Motion. The Report concludes that Plaintiff’s factual allegations “offer no reasonable basis that would allow the [c]ourt to predict that [Ms.] Scott entered into, let alone breached, any contract with Plaintiff,” or that her actions as the investigator subject her to liability under Section 541 of the Texas Insurance Code. Id. at 5, 7. Therefore, there is “no reasonable possibility that Plaintiff can recover from [Ms.] Scott” based on the petition’s formulaic and conclusory allegations. Id. at 6. Accordingly, Ms. Scott was improperly joined. After reviewing the Motion, response, Report, pleadings, file, record, and applicable law, the court determines that the magistrate judge’s findings and conclusions are correct, and accepts them as those of the court. Therefore, the court concludes that Ms. Scott was improperly joined, disregards her Texas citizenship, and determines that it has jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332 because the parties are completely diverse and the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000. Accordingly, the court denies Plaintiff’s Motions, and dismisses with prejudice all of his claims asserted against Ms. Scott. It is so ordered this 26th day of February, 2024. _________________________________ Sam A. Lindsay United States District Judge Order – Page 2
]]>
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You
should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google
Privacy Policy and
Terms of Service apply.
