Nixon v. Town Taxi, Inc.

MORTON, District Judge.

At the conclusion of the plaintiff’s case, the defendant moved to dismiss on the ground that it was evident that the necessary jurisdictional amount — $3,000 exclusive of interest and costs — was not in controversy. By agreement of parties,, decision on the motion was postponed until after verdict.

It is settled that an apparent claim on the face of the papers to an amount in excess of the jurisdictional requirement is not conclusive. The claim must be based on “a reasonable expectation” of recovering the required amount. Whether it is of that character is a question of…