Recently, in Mallek v. Allstate Indem. Co. No. 17-CV-5949-KAM-SJB, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 42171 (E.D.N.Y. Mar. 12, 2018), a federal magistrate in New York recommended that the Court deny a plaintiff’s motion to remand and suggested that removal was proper where the plaintiff “fraudulently” joined an insurance agent. Oftentimes, coverage actions involve a plaintiff suing a national insurance company, where neither are citizens of the same state, and therefore, the case may be eligible for removal under 28 U.S.C. § 1332. However, some plaintiffs have included local agents of the insurance company—like a claims professional who handled their claim—as named-defendants, along with the insurer, in an attempt to defeat complete diversity between a local plaintiff and a national insurance carrier.
Continue Reading Eastern District of New York Magistrate Recommends Denial of a Motion to Remand and Recognizes the Application of the Fraudulent Joinder Doctrine, Even in the Face of the “Forum Defendant Rule”