Irving Concrete of Ohio Inc v. Bond Safeguard Insurance Co et al

Filing 4

OPINION AND ORDER: Dfts to supplement the record by filing an Amended Notice of Removal on/bf 9/12/2012, alleging the citizenship of Pla Irving Concrete of Ohio Inc, including both the state of its incorporation and the state in which it has its principal place of business. Signed by Magistrate Judge Roger B Cosbey on 8/29/2012. (lns)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA
FORT WAYNE DIVISION
IRVING CONCRETE OF OHIO, INC.,
Plaintiff,
v.
BOND SAFEGUARD INSURANCE CO., and
AMERICAN CONTRACTING SERVICES,
INC.,
Defendants.

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CAUSE NO. 1:12-CV-292

OPINION AND ORDER
This case was removed to this Court from the Allen Superior Court by Defendants based
on diversity jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a). (Docket # 3.) Although the Notice of
Removal alleges the citizenship of both Defendants (see Notice of Removal ¶¶ 4-5), it fails to
make any allegations concerning the citizenship of the Plaintiff, Irving Concrete of Ohio, Inc.
According to the Complaint, Irving Concrete is an Indiana corporation with offices
located in both Indiana and Ohio. (Compl. ¶ 1). But, for the purposes of diversity jurisdiction,
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). Thus, the Court must be apprised of both facts—the state of
incorporation and the state in which the principal place of business is located—with respect to

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Irving Concrete.
Additionally, if Irving Concrete has its principal place of business in Ohio, rather than
Indiana, making it a citizen of both Indiana and Ohio, then diversity jurisdiction does not exist
because one of the Defendants, American Contracting Services, Inc., is also an Ohio citizen (see
Notice of Removal ¶ 5 (alleging that American Contracting Services is “a corporation
incorporated in Ohio with its principal place of business in Cincinnati, Ohio”)). See 28 U.S.C. §
1332(a); Travelers Prop. Cas. v. Good, __ F.3d __, 2012 WL 3059297, at *2 (7th Cir. July 27,
2012) (noting that to invoke the diversity jurisdiction of the federal courts, a party must establish
complete diversity of citizenship).
Therefore, Defendants are ORDERED to supplement the record by filing an Amended
Notice of Removal on or before September 12, 2012, alleging the citizenship of Plaintiff Irving
Concrete of Ohio, Inc., including both the state of its incorporation and the state in which it has
its principal place of business.
SO ORDERED.
Enter for this 29th day of August, 2012.
/S/ Roger B. Cosbey
Roger B. Cosbey,
United States Magistrate Judge

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