JOSEPH M. HOOD, Senior District Judge.
This matter is before the Court upon Defendants' Motion to Remand Case from District Court to Madison Circuit Court [Record No. 20] to which Plaintiff has filed a Response [Record No. 23]. The deadline for filing a reply having past, this motion is ripe for decision.
In an order dated October 25, 2010, 2010 WL 4313336, this Court held that Defendants had successfully shown a probability that Plaintiff's demands met the amount in controversy requirement set forth in 28 U.S.C. § 1332. [Record No. 7] (holding that a settlement letter, in conjunction with Plaintiff's listed claims in his complaint, established an amount in controversy greater than $75,000); see also Worthams v. Atlanta Life Ins. Co., 533 F.2d 994, 997 (6th Cir.1976) (citation omitted) ("Absolute certainty is not required. It is sufficient that there is a probability that the value of the matter in controversy exceeds the jurisdictional amount."). Nearly five months later, Plaintiff filed a motion to remand [Record No. 20] acknowledging that he could not prove lost wages and, thus, could not recover damages in excess of $75,000. Plaintiff stipulated that he would not "seek lost wages in any negotiations and/or at trial." Id. at para. 3. Plaintiff argues that, as a result, this Court lacks subject-matter jurisdiction because the amount in controversy has fallen below the amount set forth in 28 U.S.C. § 1332.
Courts are obliged to consider whether they have proper jurisdiction to decide the matter before them. Steel Co. v. Citizens for a Better Env't, 523 U.S. 83, 95, 118 S.Ct. 1003, 140 L.Ed.2d 210 (1998) (citing Capron v. Van Noorden, 6 U.S. (2 Cranch) 126, 126-27, 2 L.Ed. 229 (1804)). This obligation applies regardless of whether the case originated in the federal court or began in state court and was removed, and the obligation to consider whether subject-matter jurisdiction exists remains ongoing throughout the pendency of a case before the Court. See id.; 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c) ("If at any time before final judgment it appears that the district court lacks subject matter jurisdiction, the case shall be remanded."); see also Powerex Corp. v. Reliant Energy Servs., Inc., 551 U.S. 224, 230, 127 S.Ct. 2411, 168 L.Ed.2d 112 (2007) ("Nothing in the text of § 1447(c) supports the proposition that a remand for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction is not covered so long as the case was properly removed in the first instance."). Where an action is removed to this Court on the basis of original jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332, the amount in controversy is evaluated as of the time of removal. Northup Props., Inc. v. Chesapeake Appalachia, L.L.C., 567 F.3d 767, 769-70 (6th Cir.2009) (citing Hayes v. Equitable Energy Res. Co., 266 F.3d 560, 572 (6th Cir. 2001)). Thus, "events occurring after removal that reduce the amount in controversy do not oust jurisdiction." Rogers v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 230 F.3d 868, 872 (6th Cir.2000) (citation omitted).
In considering Plaintiff's second amended complaint, the Court has already
Certainly, where a complaint does not state the amount of damages, a post-removal stipulation can be understood as a clarification of the amount in controversy at the time of removal. See Egan v. Premier Scales & Sys., 237 F.Supp.2d 774, 778 (W.D.Ky.2002) ("[W]here a plaintiff provides specific information about the amount in controversy for the first time, it should be deemed a clarification rather than a change.")(emphasis in original); Fenger v. Idexx Labs., Inc., 194 F.Supp.2d 601, 604-05 (E.D.Ky.2002) (remanding the case to state court where Plaintiff submitted an affidavit stipulating a limitation of damages to less than the threshold amount and the complaint did not specify an amount of damages). While Plaintiff's second amended complaint seeks no specific amount of damages, the present matter is distinguishable from Egan and Fenger because there was sufficient evidence from which the Court could and did ascertain an amount in controversy was greater than $75,000 at the time of removal. See generally [Record No. 7]. More importantly, the stipulation in Plaintiff's motion to remand does not suggest that the amount
Accordingly,