Tracy Nelstein v. Otis Elevator Company

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN SOUTHERN DIVISION TRACY NELSTEIN, Plaintiff, Case No. 2:25-cv-12725 v. Honorable Susan K. DeClercq United States District Judge OTIS ELEVATOR COMPANY, Defendant. ___________________________________/ ORDER REMANDING CASE On July 28, 2025, Plaintiff Tracy Nelstein sued Defendant Otis Elevator Company in Wayne County Circuit Court for injuries she sustained as a result of a falling elevator installed or maintained by Otis. ECF No.1 at PageID.14. Otis removed the case to federal court under 28 U.S.C. § 1441(b)(2), citing diversity jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a), since Nelstein is a citizen of Michigan and Otis is a corporate citizen of New Jersey and Connecticut. Id. at PageID.5. However, on December 16, 2025, Nelstein filed an amended complaint adding Donald Smith, a citizen of Michigan, as a new defendant. ECF No. 15.

For diversity jurisdiction to exist, the parties must be completely diverse, meaning no plaintiff shares a state of citizenship with any defendant, and the amount in controversy must exceed $75,000. 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a). Here, Plaintiff Nelstein and Defendant Smith are both Michigan residents, defeating complete diversity.

Moreover, there is no federal question presented by Plaintiff’s claims. See generally ECF No. 15. Therefore, this Court no longer has jurisdiction over this matter so it must be remanded back to state court for any further proceedings.1 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a); see also Caterpillar Inc. v. Williams, 482 U.S. 386 (1987).

Accordingly, it is ORDERED that the above-captioned case is REMANDED to the Third Circuit Court of Wayne County.

This is a final order and closes the above-captioned case. /s/ Susan K. DeClercq SUSAN K. DeCLERCQ United States District Judge Dated: January 9, 2026

1 At a conference held with this Court on January 5, 2026, counsel for the parties indicated their agreement that this case must be remanded back to state court.