Opinion
Civil Action 21-cv-1723
06-24-2021
ANGELA MOORE v. FOREMOST INSURANCE CO.
JUDGE FOOTE
MEMORANDUM ORDER
MARK L. HORNSBY, U.S. MAGISTRATE JUDGE
Angela Moore (“Plaintiff”) filed this civil action against Foremost Insurance Company (“Foremost”) for damages arising out of an insurance contract dispute. Plaintiff filed a suit based on an assertion of diversity jurisdiction, which puts the burden on her to set forth specific allegations that show complete diversity of citizenship of the parties and an amount in controversy over $75,000. The allegations in the complaint are sufficient with one exception.
The complaint alleges that Foremost is a foreign insurance company. The complaint does not allege Foremost's type of entity. If it is a corporation, it is deemed to be a citizen of (1) the state in which it was incorporated and (2) the state where it has its principal place of business. 28 U.S.C. § 1332(c)(1). To establish diversity jurisdiction, a complaint or notice of removal must set forth “with specificity” a corporate party's state of incorporation and its principal place of business. “Where the plaintiff fails to state the place of incorporation or the principal place of business of a corporate party, the pleadings are inadequate to establish diversity.” Joiner v. Diamond M Drilling Co., 677 F.2d 1035, 1039 (5th Cir. 1982).
If Foremost is an unincorporated association, its citizenship is determined by the citizenship of each of its members. Harvey v. Grey Wolf Drilling Co., 542 F.3d 1077 (5th Cir. 2008). Additional rules regarding the allegation of the citizenship of such associations can be found in Rodidaco, Inc. v. Chesapeake Energy Louisiana Corp. 2018 WL 3551525 (W.D. La. 2018).
Plaintiff will need to specifically state in an amended complaint whether Foremost is a corporation or some other form of entity or association. If it is a corporation, the amended complaint will need to specifically identify its state of incorporation and that state in which it has its principal place of business. If it is an unincorporated association, the amended complaint will need to specifically identify each of its members and their citizenship. Alternatively, Plaintiff may request that counsel for Foremost include detailed citizenship information in its answer to the complaint.