Harris v. St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center et al

Filing 5

ORDER: IT IS ORDERED that within 21 days, Plaintiff shall file a supplement to his complaint alleging a basis for federal subject matter jurisdiction or this case will be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. See attached Order for complete details. Signed by Senior Judge James A Teilborg on 5/20/2016. (KAL)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

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James Harris,

No. CV-16-01234-PHX-JAT
Plaintiff,

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v.

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ORDER

St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center, et
al.,

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Defendants.

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Federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction. As a result, they can hear only

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those cases that the Constitution and Congress have authorized them to adjudicate:

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namely, cases involving diversity of citizenship, a federal question, or cases to which the

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United States is a party. Kokkonen v. Guardian Life Ins. Co. of Am., 511 U.S. 375, 377

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(1994). The party asserting jurisdiction bears the burden of proving a jurisdictional basis

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exists. Id. In this case, because Plaintiff filed his suit in federal district court, he must

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show that the federal court is authorized to hear the case.

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In the complaint, Plaintiff states, “Jurisdiction is within the statutory guide lines of

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the Federal District Court….” Doc. 1 at 2. Plaintiff’s sole cause of action is for

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negligence. Plaintiff claims to be a citizen of Arizona. It appears Defendants are also

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citizens of Arizona. Accordingly, it does not seem that either diversity jurisdiction or

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federal question jurisdiction exist in this case.

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Therefore,

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IT IS ORDERED that within 21 days, Plaintiff shall file a supplement to his

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complaint alleging a basis for federal subject matter jurisdiction or this case will be

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dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.

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Dated this 20th day of May, 2016.

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