Peter Ramirez, Jr., Cross-Appellee v. Inter-Continental Hotels, D/B/A St. Anthony Hotel, and the Travelers Insurance Company, Cross-Appellants

JERRY E. SMITH, Circuit Judge:

Plaintiff Peter Ramirez, Jr., filed suit in Texas state court, asserting various contract, tort, and statutory causes of action against his former employer, Inter-Continental Hotels (“Inter-Continental”), and its insurance carrier, The Travelers Insurance Company (“Travelers”). Defendants removed the case to federal district court, basing jurisdiction upon the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”), 29 U.S.C. §§ 1001-1461, and, in the alternative, upon diversity of citizenship. Following removal, the district court concluded that Ramirez’s…