Celina Mutual Insurance Company The v. Taylor Made Exteriors et al

Filing 4

OPINION AND ORDER: Plaintiff is ORDERED to supplement the record by filing an amended complaint that properly alleges the citizenship of each of the parties on or before 2/2/2016. Signed by Magistrate Judge Susan L Collins on 1/19/2016. (lhc)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA
FORT WAYNE DIVISION
CELINA MUTUAL INSURANCE
COMPANY,
Plaintiff,
v.
TAYLOR MADE EXTERIORS, et al.,
Defendants.

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CASE NO: 1:16-cv-00014-RL-SLC

OPINION AND ORDER
On January 14, 2016, Plaintiff Celina Mutual Insurance Company filed a complaint
against Defendants Taylor Made Exteriors; Don Myers Plumbing & Heating, Inc.; Hitzer, Inc.;
and Joe A. Construction, LLC, alleging that this Court has diversity jurisdiction pursuant to 28
U.S.C. § 1332. (DE 1). The complaint recites that Plaintiff is an Ohio corporation with its
principal place of business in Ohio. (DE 1 ¶ 1). It further alleges “[u]pon information and
belief,” that Defendant Taylor Made Exteriors is an unincorporated association with its principal
place of business in Indiana; and that Defendants Don Myers Plumbing & Heating, Inc., Hitzer,
Inc., and Joe A Construction, LLC, are each incorporated in Indiana and have their principal
place of business in Indiana. (DE 1 ¶¶ 3-6).
Plaintiff’s allegations with respect to Defendants’ citizenship are inadequate for purposes
of establishing diversity jurisdiction. First, “[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).
Second, as to Defendants Taylor Made Exteriors and Joe A Construction, LLC, “in the
case of a firm that is not a corporation, its citizenship is the citizenship of its owners, partners, or
other principals.” Meyerson v. Harrah’s East Chi. Casino, 299 F.3d 616, 617 (7th Cir. 2002).
Therefore, “citizenship of unincorporated associations must be traced through however many
layers of partners or members there may be.” Id. (citations omitted). Accordingly, the Court
must be informed of the citizenship of all of the owners, partners, or principals of Taylor Made
Exteriors and all of the members of Joe A Construction, LLC, tracing such citizenship through
all applicable layers of ownership.
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). Therefore, Plaintiff is ORDERED to
supplement the record by filing an amended complaint that properly alleges the citizenship of
each of the parties on or before February 2, 2016.
SO ORDERED.
Enter for this 19th day of January 2016.
/s/ Susan Collins
Susan Collins
United States Magistrate Judge

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