State Farm Fire & Casualty Company v. General Motors LLC

Filing 7

OPINION AND ORDER re 2 Notice of Removal from Huntington Circuit Court; 35C01-1305-CT-332 by General Motors LLC. Defendant is ORDERED to supplement the record by filing an Amended Notice of Removal on or before 6/25/13, properly alleging on personal knowledge the citizenship of Plaintiff State Farm Fire & Casualty Company and Defendant General Motors LLC. Signed by Magistrate Judge Roger B Cosbey on 6/11/13. (lhc)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA
FORT WAYNE DIVISION
STATE FARM FIRE & CASUALTY
COMPANY, as subrogee of Kenneth Burkhart,
Plaintiff,
v.
GENERAL MOTORS LLC,
Defendant.

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CAUSE NO. 1:13-CV-184

OPINION AND ORDER
This case was removed to this Court from the Huntington Circuit Court by Defendant
based on diversity jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a). (Docket # 2.) The Notice of
Removal alleges that, “[u]pon information and belief,” Plaintiff State Farm Fire & Casualty
Company is an Illinois company with its principal place of business in Illinois. (Notice of
Removal ¶ 4(a)(i).) It further alleges that Defendant General Motors LLC is a Delaware limited
liability company with its principal place of business in Michigan. (Notice of Removal ¶
4(a)(ii).)
The Notice of Removal, 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, No. Civ. 06-753-GPM,
2006 WL 4017975, at *10 n.1 (S.D. Ill. Dec. 7, 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
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Int’l, Inc. v. Paige Med. Supply Co., Inc., 142 F.R.D. 150, 152 (N.D. Ill. 1992). Consequently,
Defendant must amend its Notice of Removal to allege Plaintiff’s citizenship on personal
knowledge rather than information and belief.
And, as to Defendant General Motors LLC, a limited liability company’s citizenship “for
purposes of . . . diversity jurisdiction is the citizenship of its members.” Cosgrove v. Bartolotta,
150 F.3d 729, 731 (7th Cir. 1998). Therefore, alleging that General Motors LLC is a Delaware
limited liability company with its principal place of business in Michigan does not establish its
citizenship. Rather, the Court must be advised of the citizenship of all of General Motors LLC’s
members to ensure that none of them share a common citizenship with Plaintiff. Hicklin Eng’g,
L.C. v. Bartell, 439 F.3d 346, 347 (7th Cir. 2006). Moreover, citizenship must be “traced
through multiple levels” for those members of General Motors LLC who are a partnership or a
limited liability company, as anything less can result in a dismissal or remand for want of
jurisdiction. Mut. Assignment & Indem. Co. v. Lind-Waldock & Co., LLC, 364 F.3d 858, 861
(7th Cir. 2004).
Therefore, Defendant is ORDERED to supplement the record by filing an Amended
Notice of Removal on or before June 25, 2013, properly alleging on personal knowledge the
citizenship of Plaintiff State Farm Fire & Casualty Company and Defendant General Motors
LLC.
SO ORDERED.
Enter for this 11th day of June, 2013.
/S/ Roger B. Cosbey
Roger B. Cosbey,
United States Magistrate Judge

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