Kurnoskin v. Reinhart Transportation et al

Filing 6

OPINION AND ORDER re 1 Plaintiff's Original Complaint and Jury Demand against Reinhart Transportation LLC, Craig A Riemersma. Plaintiff is ORDERED to supplement the record on or before 2/9/2015 with the identity and citizenship of each member of Defendant Reinhart Transportation, LLC. Signed by Magistrate Judge Susan L Collins on 1/26/2015. (lhc)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA
FORT WAYNE DIVISION
VITALIY KURNOSKIN,

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Plaintiff,
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v.
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REINHART TRANSPORTATION LLC, et al., )
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Defendants.
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CAUSE NO. 1:14-CV-406

OPINION AND ORDER
This case was filed in this Court on December 29, 2014, based on diversity jurisdiction
pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a). (Docket # 1.) Now before the Court is Plaintiff’s First
Amended Complaint, alleging that Plaintiff Vitaliy Kurnoskin is a citizen of Florida; Defendant
Craig A. Riemersma is a citizen of Illinois; and that “[a]ll of the partners” of Reinhart
Transportation, LLC, “are citizens of Wisconsin.” (Pl.’s First Am. Compl. ¶¶ 1-3.)
But the jurisdictional allegations of Defendant Reinhart Transportation, LLC, are
deficient. As the party seeking to invoke federal diversity jurisdiction, Plaintiff bears the burden
of demonstrating that the requirement of complete diversity has been met. Chase v. Shop’n Save
Warehouse Foods, Inc., 110 F.3d 424, 427 (7th Cir. 1997). 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). Plaintiff cannot, as he attempts to do here, merely
allege a “naked declaration that there is diversity of citizenship” with respect to the members of
Defendant Reinhart Transportation, LLC. Thomas v. Guardsmark, LLC, 487 F.3d 531, 533 (7th
Cir. 2007).
As explained in this Court’s Order dated January 5, 2015 (Docket # 4), 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). Thus, the Court must be
advised of the identity of each member of Reinhart Transportation, LLC, together with such
member’s citizenship. Hicklin Eng’g, L.C. v. Bartell, 439 F.3d 346, 347 (7th Cir. 2006); see
generally Guar. Nat’l Title Co. v. J.E.G. Assocs., 101 F.3d 57, 59 (7th Cir. 1996) (explaining
that the court would “need to know the name and citizenship(s)” of each partner for diversity
jurisdiction purposes).
Therefore, Plaintiff is ORDERED to supplement the record on or before February 9,
2015, with the identity and citizenship of each member of Defendant Reinhart Transportation,
LLC.
SO ORDERED.
Enter for this 26th day of January 2015.
/s Susan Collins
Susan Collins,
United States Magistrate Judge

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