Langan v. Rasmussen et al

Filing 7

ORDER re Complaint. See Written Order. Entered by Magistrate Judge Jonathan E. Hawley on 7/21/2015. (KZ, ilcd)

E-FILED

Tuesday, 21 July, 2015 09:51:10 AM
Clerk, U.S. District Court, ILCD

IN THE
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
CENTRAL DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
PEORIA DIVISION
DANIEL M. LANGAN,
Plaintiff,
v.

Case No. 1:15-cv-01285-JBM-JEH

CLIFFORD RASMUSSEN and
KOTTKE TRUCKING, INC.,
Defendants.
Order
The Plaintiff’s Complaint (Doc. 1) asserts diversity of citizenship as the basis
of the Court’s subject matter jurisdiction. The allegations of the Complaint do not
sufficiently support that assertion.
The Complaint alleges the following information about the parties.

The

Plaintiff permanently resides in the Village of Dunlap, County of Peoria, and State
of Illinois. He is a citizen of the United States of America and the State of Illinois.
Defendant Clifford A. Rasmussen, on information and belief, is residing in Buffalo
Lake, MN and is a citizen of the United States of America and the State of
Minnesota. Defendant Kottke Trucking, Inc., on information and belief, is a foreign
corporation whose principal place of business is located in the State of Minnesota.
First, asserting jurisdiction on the basis of “information and belief” is
insufficient to invoke diversity jurisdiction. America’s Best Inns, Inc v Best Inns of
Abilene, LP, 980 F2d 1072, 1074 (7th Cir 1992) (“to the best of my knowledge and
belief” is insufficient to invoke diversity jurisdiction); Page v Wright, 116 F2d 449, 451
(7th Cir 1940) (expressing serious doubts as to whether the record could be
sustained in the face of a direct jurisdictional attack where diversity jurisdiction was
asserted, in part, based upon information and belief).

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Second, the Complaint must allege the state of incorporation and principal
place of business, and those allegations must be based on the state of things at the
time the action was brought. 28 USC § 1332(c)(1); Grupo Dataflux v Atlas Global
Group, LP, 541 US 567, 570-71 (2004). Here, the Plaintiff indicates that Defendant
Kottke Trucking, Inc. is a foreign corporation, but does not actually specify the
foreign state of incorporation.
Accordingly, the Plaintiff is directed to file an amended complaint that
adequately alleges the factual basis for this Court’s jurisdiction. The amended
complaint shall be filed within 14 days of this date.

It is so ordered.
Entered on July 21, 2015.

s/Jonathan E. Hawley
U.S. MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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