Moore v. Sony Electronics Inc

Filing 12

OPINION AND ORDER directing Pla to file Amended Complaint forthwith, properly alleging his own citizenship. Signed by Magistrate Judge Roger B Cosbey on 6/2/2011. (lns)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA
FORT WAYNE DIVISION
JAY MOORE,
Plaintiff,
v.
SONY ELECTRONICS, INC.,
Defendant.

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CAUSE NO. 1:11-cv-180

OPINION AND ORDER
Plaintiff filed this case in this Court based on diversity jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C.
§ 1332(a). (Docket # 1.) The Complaint alleges that Plaintiff Jay Moore is an Indiana resident.
(Complaint ¶ 1.) The Plaintiff’s jurisdictional allegations, however, inadequately set forth his
own citizenship.
The “residency” of a party is meaningless for purposes of diversity jurisdiction, as
“citizenship is what matters.”1 Guar. Nat’l Title Co. v. J.E.G. Assocs., 101 F.3d 57, 58-59 (7th
Cir. 1996) (explaining that statements concerning a party’s “residency” are not proper
allegations of citizenship as required by 28 U.S.C. § 1332); see 28 U.S.C. § 1332; Nilssen v.
Motorola, Inc., 255 F.3d 410, 412 (7th Cir. 2001). “It is well-settled that when the parties allege
residence but not citizenship, the court must dismiss the suit.” Held v. Held, 137 F.3d 998, 1000
(7th Cir. 1998) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted)). “For natural persons, state

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For purposes of determining diversity jurisdiction, each party’s citizenship must be articulated as of “the
time of the filing of the complaint,” rather than the date the claims are alleged to have arisen or some other time
material to the lawsuit. Multi-M Int’l, Inc. v. Paige Med. Supply Co., 142 F.R.D. 150, 152 (N.D. Ill. 1992); see
Denlinger v. Brennan, 87 F.3d 214, 216 (7th Cir. 1996). Furthermore, “[a]llegations of federal subject matter
jurisdiction may not be made on the basis of information and belief, only personal knowledge.” Yount v. Shashek,
472 F. Supp. 2d 1055, 1057 n.1 (S.D. Ill. 2006); Ferolie Corp. v. Advantage Sales & Mktg., LLC, No. 04 C 5425,
2004 WL 2433114, at *1 (N.D. Ill. Oct. 28, 2004); Hayes v. Bass Pro Outdoor World, LLC, No. 02 C 9106, 2003
WL 187411, at *2 (N.D. Ill. Jan. 21, 2003).

citizenship is determined by one’s domicile.” Dausch v. Rykse, 9 F.3d 1244, 1245 (7th Cir.
1993); see also Am.’s Best Inns, Inc. v. Best Inns of Abilene, L.P., 980 F.2d 1072, 1074 (7th Cir.
1992) (“In federal law citizenship means domicile, not residence.”).
Therefore, the Plaintiff is ORDERED to file an amended Complaint forthwith, properly
alleging his own citizenship.

SO ORDERED.
Enter for June 2, 2011.
/S/ Roger B. Cosbey
Roger B. Cosbey,
United States Magistrate Judge

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