When any civil case is filed in State Court, it can sometimes be "removed" to Federal Court. The legal basis for removal is often Federal "diversity jurisdiction". This means jurisdiction in Federal District Courts in civil actions between citizens of different States, in basic and simple terms. (Among other things, the matter in controversy has to be over the value of $75,000.00, not including interest and costs.)
In a Hurricane Katrina Insurance Coverage Case on March 28, 2007, the Federal Court granted the Plaintiff Policyholder's Motion to Remand her case back to State Court. The Property Insurance Company Defendant opposed the Motion to Remand by arguing, among other things, that there really was diversity even though the Plaintiff, who lived in Louisiana, sued an insurance agency which was apparently also from Louisiana, in addition to the Property Insurance Company.
In another Hurricane Katrina Insurance Case, but one decided by the Southern District of MIssissippi, a similar result and rule of law was posted here on December 28, 2006. The Federal Courts usually allow discovery on whether to remand an Insurance Case. In the most recent ruling in a Hurricane Katrina Insurance Case, the Eastern District of Louisiana ruled on March 28, 2007 in Download Gwendolyn_Tucker_v. Metropolitan Property & Casualty Insurance Co. (E.D. La. No. 06-9983, Order March 28, 2007), see page 11 of the official Court Opinion in this pdf: "Without further factual development the Court cannot conclude that Plaintiff has no possibility of recovery against the in-state defendant."
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