Hammon et al v. Best Western Auburn Inn et al

Filing 4

OPINION AND ORDER re 2 NOTICE OF REMOVAL filed by Defendant Kaiser-Frazer Owners Club International. Defendant to file a disclosure disclosing citizenship of all members by 8/1/2006. Signed by Judge Roger B Cosbey on 6/28/06. (cer)

Hammon et al v. Best Western Auburn Inn et al

Doc. 4

case 1:06-cv-00242-WCL-RBC

document 4

filed 06/28/2006

page 1 of 2

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA FORT WAYNE DIVISION ETHEL M. HAMMON and DALE A. HAMMON, Plaintiffs, v. BEST WESTERN AUBURN INN; ) FOCUS ENTERPRISES, LLC; FOCUS HOTEL PARTNERS, LLC; FOCUS HOTEL PARTNERS II, LLC; FOCUS HOSPITALITY SERVICES, LLC; and KAISER-FRAZER OWNERS CLUB INTERNATIONAL, Defendants. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

CAUSE NO. 1:06-CV-242

OPINION AND ORDER In their Verified Petition for Removal (Docket #2), the Defendants maintain that this Court's jurisdiction is based on diversity of citizenship, 28 U.S.C. § 1332, yet we do not know the citizenship of all the members of Kaiser-Frazer Owners Club International, and thus we cannot be assured there is complete diversity. More particularly, Defendant Kaiser-Frazer Owners Club International is ostensibly an unincorporated association, whose citizenship for purposes of diversity jurisdiction is likewise the citizenship of all its members since "an unincorporated association is said to have no citizenship of its own." 7C Charles Alan Wright & Arthur R. Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure § 1861 (2d 1986); see also Stark v. Abex Corp., No. 05-C-6987, 2006 WL 59362, at *2 (N.D. Ill. Jan. 5, 2006) (quoting Carden v. Arkoma Assocs., 494 U.S. 185, 195-96 (1990); Meyerson v. Harrah's E. Chicago Casino, 299 F.3d 616, 617 (7th Cir. 2002); Indiana Gas Co. v. Home Ins. Co., 141 F.3d 314, 316 (7th Cir. 1998); Cosgrove, 150 F.3d at 731); 6 Am. Jur. 2d

Dockets.Justia.com

case 1:06-cv-00242-WCL-RBC

document 4

filed 06/28/2006

page 2 of 2

Associations and Clubs § 1 ("[A]n unincorporated association is . . . a body of individuals acting together for the prosecution of a common enterprise without a corporate charter . . . ."). "This effectively may bar resort to federal diversity jurisdiction because the requirement of complete diversity is virtually impossible to satisfy in cases involving large multistate associations." 7C Charles Alan Wright & Arthur R. Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure § 1861 (2d 1986) Therefore, based on the foregoing, Defendant Kaiser-Frazer Owners Club International is to file a disclosure by August 1, 2006, disclosing the citizenship of all members. SO ORDERED. Enter for June 28, 2006. S/Roger B. Cosbey Roger B. Cosbey United States Magistrate Judge