RehabCare Group East, Inc. v. Lakeview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Inc. et al

Filing 13

MEMORANDUM Order Signed by the Honorable Milton I. Shadur on 10/6/2011:Mailed notice(srn, )

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
EASTERN DIVISION
REHABCARE GROUP EAST, INC.,
etc.,
Plaintiff,
v.
LAKEVIEW NURSING AND
REHABILITATION CENTER, INC.,
et al.,
Defendants.

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No.

11 C 6384

MEMORANDUM ORDER
Lakeview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Inc.
(“Lakeview”), a codefendant with Tricare Rehab, LLC (“Tricare”),
has filed its Answer to the Complaint brought against them by
RehabCare Group East, Inc. d/b/a RehabCare Group Therapy
Services, Inc. (“RehabCare”).

This memorandum order is issued

sua sponte to address one problematic aspect of the Answer, as
well as focusing on a subject matter jurisdictional question
posed by the Complaint.
As for Lakeview’s Answer, here are Complaint ¶14 and
Lakeview’s response:
14. During conferences between RehabCare and
Lakeview, Lakeview represented to RehabCare that the
otustanding invoices would be paid and requested that
RehabCare continue to provide services in accordance
with the Therapy Services Agreement.
ANSWER: Lakeview states that negotiations between
the parties in anticipation of settling disputed issues
are not admissible and not relevant, and as such
Lakeview denies the allegations contained in
Paragraph 14.

That purported response is of course a non sequitur--whatever may
be said as to the evidentiary admissibility or inadmissibility of
what RehabCare has alleged, that is certainly not the predicate
for Lakeview’s denial of the allegation “as such.”

Instead

Lakeview must answer the allegation in substantive terms.
Accordingly Answer ¶14 is stricken.

Lakeview is ordered to

file an amended answer to Complaint ¶14 (not a self-contained
Amended Answer to the entire Complaint) on or before October 17,
2011, failing which Complaint ¶14 will be deemed to have been
admitted.
On the jurisdictional front, here is what Complaint ¶5 says
(and does not say) about Tricare’s relevant citizenship for
diversity purposes:
5. Tricare Rehab, LLC (“Tricare”) is an Indiana
limited liability company with its principal place of
business in Indiana. None of Tricare’s members are
citizens of Delaware or Missouri.
That first sentence is wholly irrelevant, for 28 U.S.C.
§1332(c)(1) does not apply to limited liability companies.

As

for the second sentence, this Court has accepted it as accurate
for purposes of permitting the case to go forward, but as and
when Tricare files its responsive pleading it must expressly
identify all of its members and their respective states of
citizenship.

Only in that way can this Court discharge its

ongoing responsibility to police the existence (or nonexistence)

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of subject matter jurisdiction.

________________________________________
Milton I. Shadur
Senior United States District Judge
Date:

October 6, 2011

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