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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND : JACQUELYN A. COOTS, GUARDIAN : v. : Civil Action No. DKC 2003-3185 : ALLSTATE LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, et al. :

MEMORANDUM OPINION Presently pending and ready for resolution in this life insurance case are the motion by Plaintiff Jacquelyn Coots to remand, and the motions by Defendants Allstate Life Insurance Company and Premier Insurance Agency, Inc. to dismiss the

complaint pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6).

The issues have

been fully briefed and the court now rules, no hearing being deemed necessary. Local Rule 105.6. For the reasons that

follow, the court will deny the motion to remand and will grant the motions to dismiss. I. Background A. Factual Background The following facts are either uncontroverted or viewed in the light most favorable to Plaintiff Jacquelyn Coots.

Plaintiff, a Maryland resident, is the adult guardian of the property for four minor children, whose deceased father, Voga Eugene Wallace, was covered by a life insurance policy that lies

at the heart of this action. Allstate Life Insurance

Upon his death in 2000, Defendant (Allstate), the decedent's

Company

insurer, issued a check for each minor child in the amount of $75,393.02, representing each child's equal portion of the total death benefit of $301,572.08. The checks were issued to

Cassandra Wallace, the ex-wife of the decedent, as trustee for each of the children. Ms. Wallace subsequently deposited the

checks into a personal brokerage account and depleted the monies in the account without benefit to the minor children.1 B. Procedural Background On June 9, 2003, Plaintiff filed a one-count complaint in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County against Defendants

Allstate and Premier Insurance Agency, Inc. (Premier), a local agent affiliate of Defendant Allstate, alleging that they

wrongfully paid the life insurance proceeds to Ms. Wallace and that this payment constituted a conversion under Maryland law. Defendant Allstate, an Illinois corporation, removed the case to this court, contending that Plaintiff fraudulently joined

In a related action, Plaintiff sued Wachovia Securities, Inc., for conversion of the life insurance proceeds. Judge Messitte denied Defendants' motion to compel arbitration and the case is on appeal. Coots v. Wachovia Securities, Inc. , F.Supp. 2d , 2003 WL 23200807 (PJM 03-705, Dec. 15, 2003). None of the parties to the instant case advised the court that this removed action was related to the earlier case filed in this court. 2

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Defendant Premier, a Maryland corporation, in order to defeat diversity of citizenship. On November 14, 2003, Plaintiff moved

to remand the case, while Defendant Allstate moved to dismiss the complaint.2 On November 20, 2003, Defendant Premier also

filed a motion to dismiss. II. Standards of Review A. Motion to Remand On a motion to remand, the court must "strictly construe the removal statute and resolve all doubts in favor of remanding the case to state court," indicative of the reluctance of federal courts court." "to interfere with matters properly before a state

Richardson v. Phillip Morris Inc., 950 F.Supp. 700, Defendants by a

701-2 (D.Md. 1997) (internal quotation omitted). must prove the existence of diversity

jurisdiction

preponderance of the evidence.

See Momin v. Maggiemoo's Int'l,

L.L.C., 205 F.Supp.2d 506, 510 (D.Md. 2002). The "fraudulent joinder" doctrine, however, "permits removal when a non-diverse party is (or has been) a defendant in the

Defendant Allstate actually filed a motion to dismiss or, in the alternative, for summary judgment. Because Defendant Allstate attached only a copy of the beneficiary forms

Download Jacquelyn A. Coots v. Allstate Life Ins. Co., et al. (Memorandum).pdf

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