BATON ROUGE, La. – Convenience store chain Circle K wants a lawsuit filed against it for injuries sustained after a slip and fall at one of its Louisiana locations heard in federal court.
Circle K Stores Inc. filed its removal notice June 8 in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana.
It argues the lawsuit, filed in June 2025, doesn’t belong in the 21st Judicial District Court for the Parish of Livingston.
“The bases for removal of this action are that the parties are diverse in their respective citizenships and the amount in controversy exceeds the $75,000 minimum amount for the Court to exercise its diversity jurisdiction,” the 13-page notice states.
In his original complaint, Ronald Hasselbeck alleges he was injured as a result of a slip and fall at a Circle K in Denham Springs.
In his petition, he claims that on June 11, 2024, he was a patron at the store and attempted to use the restroom when he slipped and fell on a “wet substance or liquid.”
“Plaintiff alleges that, as a result of the alleged fall, he struck his left elbow, left wrist, and tailbone on the floor and struck his head on the restroom door and that he began to experience pain to these and other areas of his body immediately,” the filing states.
Hasselbeck claims he sustained “painful and permanent” injuries to his left wrist, left elbow, tailbone, and head that required “extensive medical treatment” in addition to bruising, pain to his entire body, mental anguish, and disability.
He alleges he is unable to engage in many of his hobbies and normal activities and that he suffers “extreme mental anguish.”
In his complaint, Hasselbeck contends Circle K employees were aware of the liquid on the floor prior to his fall. He argues the liquid came from a leaking toilet in the restroom where he fell.
Circle K’s negligence caused his injuries, he claims.
“Plaintiff alleges that the premises described in the petition was within the care, custody, and control of Circle K at the time of the subject incident,” the complaint states.
“Plaintiff alleges that failing to repair an obvious wet substance or leak in the restroom without placing a wet floor sign or completely closing said restroom constituted a vice or defect that created an unreasonable risk of harm to plaintiff.”
In its removal notice, Circle K points out that Hasselbeck is a Louisiana resident while it is a citizen of both Texas and Arizona.
Complete diversity of citizenship “requires that all persons on one side of the controversy be citizens of different states than all persons on the other side.”
Also in federal court, the “amount in controversy” refers to the monetary value of a plaintiff’s claim. This must exceed $75,000, exclusive of interest and costs, for diversity jurisdiction.
While Hasselbeck did not specify in his complaint the amount of damages he seeks, Circle K contends an itemization and copies of expenses related to the plaintiff’s injuries provided to the company in May support the $75,000 “in controversy.”
“The treatment related to these alleged injuries includes primary care; six months of physical therapy; treatment with an ophthalmologist; numerous visits to an orthopedic hand surgeon including wrist injections; and numerous visits with a pain management specialist including a sacroiliac joint injection, two medial branch blocks, and a radiofrequency ablation,” the removal notice states. “Plaintiff’s treatment expenses alone to date total over $42,000.”
Circle K, in its notice, also argues that prior case law provides guidance and support for the suit to be removed to federal court.
In each of the cases Circle K references, the courts increased the award of damages due to the amount of treatment required, the cost of that treatment, and the duration of the injuries.
Circle K notes that the plaintiff has the burden to demonstrate “to a legal certainty that the claim is really for less than the jurisdictional amount.”
Hasselbeck, in his lawsuit, seeks damages for medical expenses, past, present, and future; physical pain and suffering, past, present, and future; mental anguish and distress, past, present, and future; permanent injuries and disability; impairment of bodily functions; and loss of enjoyment of life.
Leake Anderson LLP in New Orleans represents Circle K. Miley Law Firm in Baton Rouge represents Hasselbeck.
