Federal Judge Finds Amount in Controversy Sufficient, Declines to Remand Suit Against Tyson

ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – A federal judge cited supplemental estimates of potential damages by Tyson Fresh Meats Inc. in rejecting a magistrate's recommendation to remand a Tyson employee's lawsuit for failing to meet the court’s amount-in-controversy threshold.

In ruling for Tyson, which removed the case from Illinois state court to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois, Judge Sara Darrow said Jan. 21 that while the amount in controversy is reviewed as of the date of removal, the court may consider later affidavits in establishing the amount (BEM I, L.L.C. v. Anthropologie Inc., 301 F.3d 548, 552 …