Huck v. Target Corporation

Filing 5

OPINION AND ORDER: Defendant is ORDERED to file an Amended Notice of Removal on or before 8/6/2012 properly alleging Target's state of incorporation. Signed by Magistrate Judge Roger B Cosbey on 7/23/2012. (kjm)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA
FORT WAYNE DIVISION
NATALIE M. HUCK,

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Plaintiff,
v.
TARGET CORPORATION,
Defendant.

CAUSE NO. 1:12-CV-249

OPINION AND ORDER
This case was removed to this Court from the Allen Superior Court by Defendant based
on diversity jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a). (Docket # 2.) The Notice of Removal
alleges that Defendant Target Corporation (“Target”) is “a foreign corporation with a principal
place of business located in Minneapolis, Minnesota.” (Notice of Removal ¶ 3(b).)
Defendant’s Notice of Removal, however, is inadequate as to Target because
corporations “are deemed to be citizens of the state in which they are incorporated and of the
state in which they have their principal place of business.” N. Trust Co. v. Bunge Corp., 899
F.2d 591, 594 (7th Cir. 1990) (emphasis added); see 28 U.S.C. § 1332(c)(1). The term “principal
place of business” refers to the corporation’s “nerve center”—the place where a corporation’s
officers direct, control, and coordinate the corporation’s activities. Hertz Corp. v. Friend, 130 S.
Ct. 1181, 1192 (2010). Although Target’s principal place of business is properly alleged, merely
alleging that Target is a “foreign corporation” does not establish its state of incorporation. See
Jackson v. Arvinmeritor, Inc., No. 1:07-cv-0430-DFH-WTL, 2008 WL 64528, at *2 n.1 (S.D.
Ind. Jan. 3, 2008) (finding an allegation that the defendant was a “foreign” corporation

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insufficient to establish diversity because neither party informed the Court of the defendant
corporation’s state of incorporation or principal place of business). Thus, the Court must be
apprised of the state in which Target is incorporated to determine whether diversity jurisdiction
exists.
Therefore, Defendant is ORDERED to supplement the record by filing an Amended
Notice of Removal on or before August 6, 2012, properly alleging Target’s state of
incorporation.
SO ORDERED.
Enter for this 23rd day of July, 2012.
/S/ Roger B. Cosbey
Roger B. Cosbey,
United States Magistrate Judge

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