Below is a link to a recent US District Court Order regarding a case that had been removed from a State Court (in Alabama) to a Federal Court based on diversity as well as Defendants' claim that the jurisdictional amount had been met.
The Federal Court Judge assigned to the case wrote:
"The question [before the Court[ is whether this specific settlement demand, given all the evidence presented, established by a preponderance of that evidence that the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000 ... The defendants insist that the plaintiffs’ demand of $155,000 must meet this standard simply because the demand was made. The proper assessment of settlement offers is not so facile. “While [a] settlement offer, by itself, may not be determinative, it counts for something.” Burns v. Windsor Insurance Co., 31 F.3d 1092, 1097 (11th Cir. 1994). What it counts for, however, depends on the circumstances."
The case may be found here.
