Chapel Ridge Investments LLC v. Petland Leaseholding Company Inc et al

Filing 4

OPINION AND ORDER re 2 NOTICE OF REMOVAL filed by Defendants Petland Inc, Petland Leaseholding Company Inc. Defendants ORDERED to file by 5/22/2013 an Amended Notice of Removal as outlined in Order. Signed by Magistrate Judge Roger B Cosbey on 5/8/13. (cer)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA
FORT WAYNE DIVISION
CHAPEL RIDGE INVESTMENTS, L.L.C.,
Plaintiff,
v.
PETLAND LEASEHOLDING COMPANY,
INC., an Ohio corporation; THE UNKNOWN
OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, AND
SHAREHOLDERS OF PETLAND LEASING
COMPANY, INC.; and PETLAND, INC., an
Ohio corporation;
Defendants.

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CAUSE NO. 1:13-CV-146

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 # 2.) The Notice of Removal
alleges that Plaintiff Chapel Ridge Investments, L.L.C. (“Chapel Ridge”) “is an Indiana Limited
Liability Company, and Defendants have confirmed that none of its members are Ohio
residents,” citing to an email exchange between counsel in which Plaintiff’s counsel indicates
that Chapel Ridge is a Delaware limited liability company whose sole member is Johann Lippert,
a California resident. (Notice of Removal ¶ 6(a)(i), Ex. C.)
Defendants’ Notice of Removal, however, is inadequate as to Chapel Ridge’s citizenship.
Because Chapel Ridge is a limited liability company, its citizenship “for purposes of . . .
diversity jurisdiction is the citizenship of its members.” Cosgrove v. Bartolotta, 150 F.3d 729,
731 (7th Cir. 1998). Although Defendants correctly recognize this fact, learning from Plaintiff’s
counsel that Johann Lippert is the sole member of Chapel Ridge, they improperly allege that
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“none of its members are Ohio residents” and rely on counsel’s statement that Mr. Lippert is a
California resident.
But the “residency” of each party is meaningless for purposes of diversity jurisdiction, as
“citizenship is what matters.” 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 wellsettled 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, the Court must be advised of `Johann Lippert’s citizenship, rather than his residency,
which “[f]or natural persons . . . is determined by one’s domicile.” Dausch v. Rykse, 9 F.3d
1244, 1245 (7th Cir. 1993); see Heinen v. Northrop Grumman Corp., 671 F.3d 669, 670 (7th Cir.
2012) (“But residence may or may not demonstrate citizenship, which depends on
domicile—that is to say, the state in which a person intends to live over the long run.”); 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.”). And, rather than merely alleging that none of
Chapel Ridge’s members are Ohio citizens, Defendants should affirmatively allege who its
members are and what their citizenship is.
The Court further notes that Plaintiff’s counsel informed Defendants that Chapel Ridge is
a Delaware limited liability company (Notice of Removal Ex. C), but Defendants allege in the
Notice of Removal that it is an Indiana limited liability company (Notice of Removal ¶ 6(a)(i)).
Although this discrepancy does not affect the jurisdictional analysis, Defendants should resolve

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it for the sake of clarity in the record.
Consequently, Defendants are ORDERED to supplement the record by filing an
Amended Notice of Removal on or before May 22, 2013, properly alleging the members of
Plaintiff Chapel Ridge Investments, L.L.C. and their citizenship and resolving the discrepancy
concerning the state in which it is organized.
SO ORDERED.
Enter for this 8th day of May, 2013.
/S/ Roger B. Cosbey
Roger B. Cosbey,
United States Magistrate Judge

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