Kurnoskin v. Reinhart Transportation et al

Filing 21

OPINION AND ORDER granting 20 Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction. Signed by Senior Judge James T Moody on 7/15/15. (mlc)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA
FORT WAYNE DIVISION
VITALIY KURNOSKIN,
Plaintiff,
v.
REINHART TRANSPORTATION
LLC, et al.,
Defendants.

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No. 1:14 CV 406

OPINION and ORDER
Plaintiff Vitaliy Kurnoskin, a resident of Florida, filed the present lawsuit based
on diversity jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a)(1). (DE # 1.) Defendant Reinhart
Transportation LLC, has moved to dismiss pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure
12(b)(2). (DE # 20.) Rule 12(b)(2) requires dismissal of a claim where personal
jurisdiction is lacking. After a defendant moves to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(2), “the
plaintiff bears the burden of demonstrating the existence of jurisdiction.” Purdue
Research Found. v. Sanofi-Synthelabo, S.A., 338 F.3d 773, 782 (7th Cir. 2003).
Section 1332(a)(1) requires diversity of citizenship – that is, all plaintiffs in this
lawsuit must be citizens of different states than all of the defendants. For limited
liability companies like defendant Reinhart Transportation LLC, citizenship “for
purposes of . . . diversity jurisdiction is the citizenship of its members.” Cosgrove v.
Bartolotta, 150 F.3d 729, 731 (7th Cir. 1998). Further, citizenship of an LLC “may need to

be traced through multiple levels if any of its members is itself a partnership or LLC.”
Mut. Assign. & Indemn. Co. v. Lind-Waldock & Co., LLC, 364 F.3d 858, 861 (7th Cir. 2004).
Defendant Reinhart Transportation LLC has informed the court that its only
member is Reinhart Foodservice, LLC, which in turn has three individual members. (DE
# 20.) Two of these members are Florida residents, like plaintiff. (Id.) The time for
plaintiff to respond to Reinhart’s motion has passed, and plaintiff has not attempted to
demonstrate the existence of jurisdiction.
Accordingly, defendant Reinhart Transportation LLC’s motion to dismiss for
lack of jurisdiction (DE # 20) is GRANTED.
SO ORDERED.
Date: July 15, 2015
s/ James T. Moody
JUDGE JAMES T. MOODY
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT