North American Van Lines Inc v. Wenzel et al
Filing
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OPINION AND ORDER: Plaintiff ORDERED to file an Amended Complaint on/before 12/6/11 properly alleging on personal knowledge the citizenship of defendants. Signed by Magistrate Judge Roger B Cosbey on 11/22/11. (jcp)
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA
FORT WAYNE DIVISION
NORTH AMERICAN VAN LINES, INC.,
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Plaintiff,
v.
MATTHEW S. WENZEL, LORIE A.
WENZEL, MARC A. ESPINOSA, and
MIRANDA T. MUNG,
Defendants.
CAUSE NO. 1:11-CV-397
OPINION AND ORDER
This case was filed in this Court on November 17, 2011, based on diversity jurisdiction
pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a). (Docket # 1.) The Complaint alleges that “[u]pon information
and belief, Defendants, Matthew S. Wenzel, Lorie A. Wenzel, Marc A. Espinosa and Miranda T.
Mung, are all individuals having a principal place of residence located in Tucson, Arizona.”
(Complaint ¶ 2.)
The Complaint, however, is inadequate for two reasons. First, it is well-settled that
“[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) (citing Am.’s Best Inns, Inc. v. Best Inns of Abilene, L.P., 980 F.2d 1072, 1074 (7th Cir.
1992)); 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); Multi-M Int’l, Inc. v. Paige Med. Supply Co., 142 F.R.D.
150, 152 (N.D. Ill. 1992). Consequently, Plaintiff must amend its Complaint to allege the
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Defendants’ citizenship on personal knowledge rather than on information and belief.
Moreover, the Complaint is also insufficient because the “residency” of each 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. “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); see generally Smoot v. Mazda Motors of
Am., Inc., 469 F.3d 675, 677-78 (7th Cir. 2006). Therefore, as citizenship does not necessarily
equate with residence, Dahlstrom v. Simon, No. 00 C 5189, 2000 WL 1231391, at *1 (N.D. Ill.
Aug. 28, 2000), alleging that the Defendants have a principal place of residence in Arizona fails
to establish their citizenship.
Accordingly, the Court must be advised of each party’s citizenship, not residency. As to
the Defendants, “[f]or natural persons, state 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, Plaintiff is ORDERED to file an Amended Complaint on or before December
6, 2011, properly alleging on personal knowledge the citizenship of Defendants Matthew
Wenzel, Lorie Wenzel, Marc Espinosa, and Miranda Mung.
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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).
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SO ORDERED.
Entered this 22nd day of November, 2011.
/S/ Roger B. Cosbey
Roger B. Cosbey,
United States Magistrate Judge
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