Summary
stating that the citizenship of an estate is that of the decedent at the time of death
Summary of this case from Estate of Gorrell v. American Healthways ServicesOpinion
Case No. 1:05-cv-00392-DFH-TAB.
March 22, 2005
ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE
Plaintiff filed its complaint on March 18, 2005, attempting to invoke the court's diversity jurisdiction. According to the court's standard practice, the court has reviewed the complaint to determine whether subject matter jurisdiction is proper. This complaint fails to allege properly the citizenship(s) of any party. Attention to the governing statute and relevant case law is essential.
Each party that is a corporation is a citizen of both its state of incorporation and the state where its principal place of business is located, which plaintiff failed to allege. See 28 U.S.C. § 1332(c)(1). The complaint also fails to allege clearly the citizenship of the Estate of James Randolph Hale, which should be the citizenship of Mr. Hale at the time of his death. See 28 U.S.C. § 1332(c)(2).
Allegations concerning individual defendants must specify citizenship rather than residence. Meyerson v. Harrah's East Chicago Casino, 299 F.3d 616 (7th Cir. 2002). Also, their relevant citizenships are those when the case is filed, not when the cause of action arose. See Smith v. Sperling, 354 U.S. 91, 93 n. 1 (1957); Northern Trust Co. v. Bunge Corp., 899 F.2d 591, 596 (7th Cir. 1990); Field v. Volkswagenwerk AG, 626 F.2d 293, 304 (3d Cir. 1980).
Accordingly, plaintiff is hereby ORDERED TO SHOW CAUSE no later than April 15, 2005, why this action should not be dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. An amended complaint that properly alleges diverse citizenship may be a sufficient response.
So ordered.