BENTON – U.S. District Judge Staci Yandle and Magistrate Judge Mark Beatty each denied motions to remand lawsuits to Madison County.
They found that the amounts in controversy exceeded the minimum for federal jurisdiction, though they applied different laws.
On June 23, Beatty found that contract and wage claims of former Club Fitness employee Traci Rueter exceeded a $75,000 minimum for an individual action.
On June 25, Yandle found that a class claim over Wal-Mart helium tanks exceeded a $5 million minimum for a class action.
Rueter sued Club Fitness in Madison County last year, claiming it paid her less than it owed her as sales representative.
Club Fitness removed the complaint to district court in January, asserting diversity jurisdiction as a Missouri business and claiming Rueter sought at least $79,360.
Her lawyer Donald Ohl of Edwardsville moved to remand it and wrote, “Plaintiff does not deny the commissions owed in her complaint exceed $75,000.”
“However, plaintiff agrees to not seek more than $75,000 in commissions owed so this is a matter rightfully remanded to state court,” Ohl wrote.
Beatty rejected the agreement, finding the amount in controversy depends on the complaint at the time of removal.
“Post removal events to reduce the amount in controversy do not negate the establishment of a jurisdictionally sufficient amount at the time of removal,” Beatty wrote.
Former Madison County associate judge Donald Flack represents Club Fitness.
In the Wal-Mart case, Peter Maag of Wood River filed a complaint for Lance Hellige and Trista Oettle in February at Madison County court.
He claimed Hellige and Oettle bought tanks with 80 percent helium that failed to keep balloons inflated for an entire day.
He proposed a class action for Illinois residents who bought Wal-Mart tanks in the last four years.
Wal-Mart removed the suit on May 15.
Maag moved to remand it on May 19, claiming it didn’t seek $5 million.
Yandle found sales for Balloon Time products totaled $4,182,949.15 in the relevant period and Wal-Mart calculated sales tax at $379,811.78.
She found postage for shipping a cylinder back to Wal-Mart was about $18.95, for an estimated total of $3,445,394.15.
She found Wal-Mart estimated $2,090,872 in travel costs of class members returning products.
She found plaintiffs presented no countervailing evidence.
Philip Sholtz of Clayton, Mo., represents Wal-Mart.