Evans Equipment Company Inc v. NBS Trucking LTD et al, No. 1:2009cv00208 - Document 7 (N.D. Ind. 2009)
Court Description: OPINION AND ORDER; defendants are ORDERED to supplement record forthwith as to citizenship of NBS Logistics LLC, tracing its citizenship through all applicable layers of ownership. Signed by Magistrate Judge Roger B Cosbey on 8/4/09. (jcp)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA FORT WAYNE DIVISION EVANS EQUIPMENT COMPANY, INC., Plaintiff, v. NBS TRUCKING. LTD., et al., Defendants. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) CAUSE NO. 1:09-CV-208 OPINION AND ORDER This case was removed to this Court from the Allen Superior Court by Defendants based on diversity jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a). (Docket # 2.) The Notice of Removal alleges that Plaintiff Evans Equipment Company, Inc., is an Indiana corporation with its principal place of business in the State of Indiana. (Notice of Removal ¶ 2.) It further articulates the citizenship of the Defendants, including NBS Logistics, LLC, which it states is a Pennsylvania limited liability company with its principal place of business located in Erie, Pennsylvania and therefore a citizen of Pennsylvania. (Notice of Removal ¶ 2.) Defendants Notice of Removal, however, is inadequate. Of course, for purposes of determining diversity jurisdiction, citizenship is what matters. Guar. Nat l Title Co. v. J.E.G. Assocs., 101 F.3d 57, 58-59 (7th Cir. 1996) (explaining that statements concerning a party s residency are not proper allegations of citizenship as required by 28 U.S.C. § 1332); see 28 U.S.C. § 1332. And although the Defendants properly allege the citizenship of the parties who are corporations and natural persons, they do not do so for Defendant NBS Logistics, LLC. A limited liability company s citizenship for purposes of . . . diversity jurisdiction is the citizenship of its members. Cosgrove v. Bartolotta, 150 F.3d 729, 731 (7th Cir. 1998). Therefore, the Court must be advised of the citizenship of all the members of NBS Logistics, LLC to ensure that none of its members share a common citizenship with Plaintiff Evans Equipment Company, Inc. Hicklin Eng g, L.C. v. Bartell, 439 F.3d 346, 347 (7th Cir. 2006). Moreover, citizenship must be traced through multiple levels for those members of NBS Logistics, LLC who are a partnership or a limited liability company, as anything less can result in a dismissal or remand for want of jurisdiction. Mut. Assignment & Indem. Co. v. LindWaldock & Co., LLC, 364 F.3d 858, 861 (7th Cir. 2004). Therefore, Defendants are ORDERED to supplement the record forthwith as to the citizenship of NBS Logistics, LLC, tracing its citizenship through all applicable layers of ownership. SO ORDERED. Enter for this 4th day of August, 2009. /S/ Roger B. Cosbey Roger B. Cosbey, United States Magistrate Judge 2
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