New York Packaging II LLC v. Maierhoffer

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER Plaintiff New York Packaging II, LLC (“Plaintiff”) filed a verified complaint in New York State Supreme Court, Nassau County, on December 29, 2022, asserting state law breach of contract and tort claims against Defendants Mustang Marketing Group, LLC (“Mustang”) and John Maierhoffer (“Maierhoffer,” and together “Defendants”). (See Notice of Removal, ECF No. 1; Verified Complaint (“Compl.”), ECF No. 1-1.) Defendants removed the case to federal court on February 3, 2023. (Id.) Plaintiff now seeks to remand this action to state court based on a lack of subject matter jurisdiction. (See Plaintiff’s Motion to Remand (“Plaintiff’s Motion”), ECF No. 17.) For the reasons stated below, Plaintiff’s Motion is denied. I. BACKGROUND The Complaint alleges that, beginning in May 2016, the parties entered into, and operated under an exclusive, sales-broker agreement by which Defendants were to solicit — on Plaintiff’s behalf — bulk orders for customized plastic bags and paper products. (See Compl.

7-9.) This arrangement continued until in or about June 2022, when the orders to Plaintiff from its largest clients “just stopped,” because Defendants had allegedly “undert[aken] surreptitiously to replace [Plaintiff] with another vendor.” (Id.