Jenkins v. National Union Fire Insurance Co.
United States District Court for the District of Northern Georgia
650 F. Supp. 609 (1986)
Facts
Tameshia Sutton, the daughter of Angelia Jenkins (plaintiff), was killed in an automobile accident. Jenkins, a citizen of Georgia, filed a lawsuit in Georgia state court against Elbert LeSueur Grier, McKenzie Tank Lines (McKenzie), and National Union Fire Insurance Co. (National) (defendants), the driver, owner, and insurer, respectively, of the other vehicle involved in the accident. Grier and McKenzie were citizens of Georgia, but National was not. The court determined that venue was improper as to Grier and McKenzie and transferred Jenkins’s claims against them to a different court, dismissing Grier and McKenzie as parties in the present case and leaving National as the only defendant. National removed the case to federal court based on diversity jurisdiction. Jenkins moved to remand the case to state court, arguing that the voluntary-involuntary rule prevented National from removing the case because Grier and McKenzie were not voluntarily dismissed from the action by Jenkins. National argued that the voluntary-involuntary rule did not apply to the case. To support its argument, National cited a series of cases that held that a defendant could remove a case after an involuntary action that resulted in complete diversity if the action was final.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Forrester, J.)
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