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LOUISIANA RECORD

Thursday, November 21, 2024

Federal judge won't send nurse's personal injury suit back to state court

Federal Court
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The plaintiff worked as an emergency room nurse at the time she alleges the defendant dragged her into his hospital room, causing her severe injuries.

NEW ORLEANS – A federal judge refused a nurse’s request to transfer her personal injury lawsuit against a patient to a Louisiana civil court.

In her complaint, Ann Tornabene, an emergency room nurse at Tulane Medical Center, alleged the defendant grabbed her and dragged her, causing severe, permanent injuries.

She filed suit in Orleans Parish civil district court against Brandon Cox and his insurance company, Safeco of Indiana. The defendants had the case transferred to U.S. District Court for Louisiana Eastern District because Cox is a citizen of Texas and the insurance company operates in Indiana and Massachusetts.

Tornabene sought to have it transferred back to civil district court, but U.S. District Court Judge Barry W. Ashe denied the motion on March 24. He said federal district courts have jurisdiction in disputes between citizens of other states when the amount at stake exceeds $75,000.

“In this case, defendants have unquestionably satisfied their burden of demonstrating the requisite amount in controversy,” Judge Ashe ruled.

Before the case was transferred to federal court, Tornabene’s lawyers sent Cox’s attorneys a letter “demanding $300,000 to resolve the matter,” Judge Ashe said in his ruling.

Tornabe’s attorneys argued that the letter is not adequate to establish the amount in controversy because it was not attached to the notice of removal.

The judge rejected that argument, ruling that the mere existence of the letter at the time the case was transferred – regardless of whether the defendants produced it – provided grounds for establishing the dollar amount of the controversy.

“To be sure, it is disingenuous (even borderline frivolous) for Tornabene to argue now that defendants have not demonstrated by a preponderance of the evidence that there is more than $75,000 in controversy when her counsel’s representations to defendants clearly demonstrate otherwise,” the judge ruled.

In her complaint, Tornabene alleged that on Jan. 27, 2019, the defendant “grabbed [her] from behind by the neck and dragged her onto the ground, and then dragged her into his hospital room.” She claimed the attack caused severe, permanent and disabling personal injuries.

U.S. District Court Lousiana Eastern District case number 2:20-cv-00400 

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