UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA FORT MYERS DIVISION

GENE POTTER,

Plaintiff,

v. Case No.: 2:25-cv-357-SPC-KCD

HOME DEPOT U.S.A, INC.,

Defendant. /

ORDER Before the Court is Home Depot U.S.A., Inc.’s Notice of Removal (Doc. 1). For the reasons outlined below, Home Depot must supplement the Notice. A defendant may remove a civil action from state court if the federal court has original jurisdiction. See

(a). “The existence of federal jurisdiction is tested at the time of removal.” Adventure Outdoors, Inc. v. Bloomberg,

(11th Cir. 2008);

(c). And “a removing defendant bears the burden of proving proper federal jurisdiction.” Leonard v. Enter. Rent a Car,

(11th Cir. 2002). Defendant removed this premises-liability action by invoking diversity jurisdiction. Federal courts have diversity jurisdiction over civil actions where there is complete diversity of citizenship between the parties and the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000, exclusive of interest and costs. See

(a). The parties here are diverse. But the Court is not so sure about the amount in controversy.

To establish the amount in controversy, Home Depot relies on a pre-suit demand letter sent by Plaintiff and a post-suit demand in an email. The letter does not make a specific monetary demand, but it outlines Plaintiff’s accrued medical bills totaling $15,027.44. It also indicates Plaintiff fractured his left

foot. (Doc. 1-6). The email includes an $85,000 settlement demand. (Doc. 1- 7). The Court is not convinced these correspondences satisfy the amount in controversy. The two-sentence demand email “does not provide any specific

information as to how [Plaintiff] reached the [$85,000] figure,” which is suggestive of puffery. Dennis v. Geovera Specialty Ins. Co., No. 6:21-CV-335- JA-EJK,

, at *2 (M.D. Fla. Apr. 12, 2021) (finding a seven- sentence email demanding $78,000 did not establish the amount in

controversy). And even looking to Plaintiff’s demand letter, it outlines only $15,027.44 in accrued medical bills, which is far below the jurisdictional threshold. Without more, the Court is not satisfied that Home Depot has shown by a preponderance of the evidence that the amount in controversy

exceeds $75,000. Accordingly, it is now ORDERED: On or before May 19, 2025, Home Depot must SUPPLEMENT its Notice of Removal consistent with this Order. Failure to do so will result in remand without further notice. DONE and ORDERED in Fort Myers, Florida on May 5, 2025.

° tet Dh att alh 3 UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE Copies: All Parties of Record