Heartland Mutual Insurance Company v. CNH America, LLC

Filing 5

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER re: jurisdictional defect. ( Amended Pleadings due by 11/1/2013.) Signed by Judge J. Phil Gilbert on 10/17/2013. (jdh)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
HEARTLAND MUTUAL INSURANCE
COMPANY a/s/o Rinderer Farms, LLC, and
Illinois Mutual Insurance Company,
Plaintiff,

Case No. 13-cv-1062-JPG-PMF

v.
CNH AMERICA, LLC,
Defendant.
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
In light of Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals admonitions, see Foster v. Hill, 497 F.3d 695,
696-97 (7th Cir. 2007), the Court has undertaken a rigorous initial review of pleadings to ensure
that jurisdiction has been properly pled. The Court has noted the following defects in the
jurisdictional allegations of the Complaint (Doc. 2) filed by plaintiff Heartland Mutual Insurance
Company:
•

Failure to allege the citizenship of each member of an unincorporated association. To
determine if complete diversity exists, the Court must examine the citizenship of each
member of a limited liability company. See White Pearl Inversiones S.A. (Uruguay) v.
Cemusa, Inc., 647 F.3d 684, 686 (7th Cir. 2011); Belleville Catering Co. v. Champaign
Market Place, LLC, 350 F.3d 691, 692 (7th Cir. 2003). The relevant pleading must
affirmatively allege the specific states of citizenship of each member of the limited liability
company, and “the citizenship of unincorporated associations must be traced through
however many layers of partners or members there may be.” Meyerson v. Harrah’s E.
Chi. Casino, 299 F.3d 616, 617 (7th Cir. 2002). The Complaint fails to allege the
citizenship of each member of defendant CNH America, LLC. The Court further cautions
that a party may not make allegations of jurisdiction “upon information and belief.”
Yount v. Shashek, 472 F. Supp. 2d 1055, 1058 n. 1 (S.D. Ill. 2006) (citing America’s Best
Inns, Inc. v. Best Inns of Abilene, L.P., 980 F.2d 1072, 1074 (7th Cir. 1992)).

•

Failure to allege sufficient facts regarding business identity. To determine the
citizenship of a business entity, the Court must know whether it is structured as a
corporation or an unincorporated association such as an LLC. The Complaint does not
identify the organizational structure of plaintiff Heartland Mutual Insurance Company
sufficiently for the Court to determine its citizenship.

The Court hereby ORDERS that plaintiff Heartland Mutual Insurance Company shall
have up to and including November 1, 2013, to amend the faulty pleading to correct the
jurisdictional defect. See 28 U.S.C. § 1653. Failure to amend the faulty pleading may result in
dismissal of this case for lack of subject matter jurisdiction or for failure to prosecute pursuant to
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b). Amendment of the faulty pleading to reflect an adequate
basis for subject matter jurisdiction will satisfy this order. Plaintiff Heartland Mutual Insurance
Company is directed to consult Local Rule 15.1 regarding amended pleadings and need not seek
leave of Court to file such amended pleading.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED: October 17, 2013
s/ J. Phil Gilbert
J. PHIL GILBERT
DISTRICT JUDGE