Smith v. Pruco Life Ins. Co. of N.J.

Plaintiff-appellant Ronald Smith commenced this action in New York State Supreme Court against defendant-appellant Pruco Life Insurance Company of New Jersey (“Pruco”). Smith alleged that he was the beneficiary of a $1 million insurance policy issued by Pruco on the life of Michael Coops; that Michael Coops had died; and that Smith was therefore entitled to a payment from Pruco of $1 million plus interest from the date of Coops’s death. Pruco removed the action to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, which had diversity jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. §…