A two car collision near Lexington, Alabama (Lauderdale Co.) has sadly claimed the life of Thomas P. Scott, 32, St. Joseph, Tennessee. The car accident occurred on Alabama Hwy 64 around 5:30 am last Friday morning. The driver of the other vehicle, Cory Scott Goode, 30, of Anderson was also seriously injured in the wreck and taken to Eliza Coffee Memorial Hospital in Florence. A report indicates there was a severe impact between the two vehicles. The cause of the car accident is still under investigation. Our thoughts and prayers go out to both families.
This car wreck brings up an interesting legal dynamic that of when one party involved in a car accident is from Alabama and the other is from another state. Since the car accident happened in Alabama the cause of action for either party can be brought in Alabama state court; however, if the amount in controversy is over $75,000.00 then the other party could remove the matter to Federal Court based upon diversity of citizenship. Federal Courts are courts of limited jurisdiction and only hear certain types of cases under certain circumstances. Essentially if there are only 2 parties to a lawsuit and they are from different states and the amount in controversy (amount at issue) is over $75,000.00 then Federal Court can have jurisdiction to hear the matter. The issue gets more complicated as more parties are added. We will discuss this matter further in an upcoming Alabama Injury Attorney Blog post.
