Allstate Insurance Company v. Serafini et al

Filing 7

OPINION AND ORDER re 6 Second Amended Complaint, filed by Allstate Insurance Company. Pla is ORDERED to file a supplement to the record on or before 3/27/2015, that properly alleges the citizenship of each Defendant. Signed by Magistrate Judge Susan L Collins on 3/19/2015. (lhc)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA
FORT WAYNE DIVISION
ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY,
Plaintiff,
v.
ANDREW SERAFINI, et al.,
Defendants.

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CAUSE NO. 1:15-CV-65

OPINION AND ORDER
On March 13, 2015, this Court entered an Opinion and Order directing Plaintiff to file an
Amended Complaint on or before March 27, 2015, that properly alleges the citizenship of
Defendants. (Docket # 4.) Now before the Court is Plaintiff’s Second Amended Complaint that
names two additional Defendants, Leslie Kidwell and Polly Kidwell, but repeats the same
deficient jurisdictional allegations concerning all Defendants. (Docket # 6.)
To reiterate, with respect to the six individual Defendants, residency is meaningless for
purposes of diversity jurisdiction; an individual’s citizenship is determined by his or her
domicile. Dakuras v. Edwards, 312 F.3d 256, 258 (7th Cir. 2002); see Heinen v. Northrop
Grumman Corp., 671 F.3d 669, 670 (7th Cir. 2012) (“[R]esidence 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.”); 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). Therefore, Plaintiff must advise the Court of the
domicile of each of the six individual Defendants, which demonstrates citizenship.
With respect to the two Defendant Estates, under 28 U.S.C. § 1332(c)(2), “the legal

representative of the estate of a decedent shall be deemed to be a citizen only of the same State
as the decedent.” Gustafson v. zumBrunnen, 546 F.3d 398, 400-01 (7th Cir. 2008) (noting that
the federal diversity statute treats the legal representative of a decedent’s estate as a citizen of the
same state as the decedent); accord Hunter v. Amin, 583 F.3d 486, 491-92 (7th Cir. 2009).
Therefore, Plaintiff must recite the domicile of each decedent at the time of his death, and in
turn, the citizenship of each Estate.
Again, Plaintiff is ORDERED to file a supplement to the record on or before March 27,
2015, that properly alleges the citizenship of each Defendant.
SO ORDERED.
Enter for this 19th day of March 2015.
s/ Susan Collins
Susan Collins,
United States Magistrate Judge

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