Mccurtain County Production Corp. v. Cowett

Facts

P alleges that Ds executed a promissory note for $15,215.59 and secured the note by giving P a security interest in a two-thirds share of 130 acres of soybeans in McCurtain County and a 1972 John Deere combine. P claims that Ds have defaulted on the note and that the aforementioned soybeans were sold to the Clarksville Grain and Elevator Co., Inc. (D1) for the sum of $10,948.27. P seeks a judgment in the amount of $15,215.59 against Ds on the promissory note. It further seeks a judgment in the amount of $7,298.84 against D1 for that portion of the proceeds from the sale of the soybeans which D1 conveyed to D. In the alternative, P seeks a judgment against Willie John Blair, d/b/a B & B Automotive Company, for $4,394.90, and against John Deere for $2,903.94 for the checks that were issued to them by D1 for the soybeans. In its Motion to Remand, P asserts that the removal of this case to federal court was improvident as all Defendants herein did not join in the removal petition filed by John Deere and as P's claim against John Deere was for an amount less than the jurisdictional amount required for a federal court to have diversity jurisdiction. John Deere asserts that the Court lacks jurisdiction over any of the Defendants except John Deere and that by reason of such a lack of jurisdiction, John Deere is entitled to remove the action without the consent of the remaining Defendants. John Deere maintains that although the other Defendants have been served, there has been no determination that the state court has jurisdiction over those Defendants and that they apparently do not want to risk submitting themselves to the jurisdiction of the court by joining in the removal petition. John Deere takes the position that the total amount of the soybeans sold to D1 is the true amount in controversy and that such value exceeds the jurisdictional amount required.

Issues

Rule of Law

Holding and Decision

Legal Analysis

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