Anderson v. URS Midwest Inc et al

Filing 3

OPINION AND ORDER: Plaintiff Anderson is ORDERED to file an amended complaint on or before 9/30/2016, that properly alleges the citizenship of each party. Signed by Magistrate Judge Susan L Collins on 9/16/2016. (lhc)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA
FORT WAYNE DIVISION
CHRISTOPHER J. ANDERSON,
Plaintiff,
v.
URS MIDWEST, INC., et al.,
Defendants.

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CASE NO: 1:16-cv-00332-RL-SLC

OPINION AND ORDER
On September 14, 2016, Plaintiff Christopher J. Anderson filed a complaint against
Defendants URS Midwest, Inc., and Juan T. Smith, alleging that this Court has diversity
jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332. (DE 1). The complaint alleges that Anderson is a
citizen of Wisconsin, that Smith is a citizen of Maryland, and that URS Midwest, Inc., is a
“foreign corporation with a principal business address of . . . Michigan . . . .” (DE 1 ¶¶ 2, 4).
Anderson’s allegations concerning the citizenship of the parties is insufficient to establish
diversity jurisdiction. As the party seeking to invoke federal diversity jurisdiction, Anderson
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).
With respect to URS Midwest, Inc., corporations “are deemed to be citizens of the state
in which they are incorporated and the state in which they have their principal place of
business.” N. Trust Co. v. Bunge Corp., 899 F.2d 591, 594 (7th Cir. 1990) (emphasis added)
(citing 28 U.S.C. § 1332(c)(1)). Therefore, Anderson’s allegation that URS Midwest, Inc., is a
“foreign corporation” is insufficient; the Court must be informed of the state in which URS
Midwest, Inc., is incorporated. Also, a corporation’s citizenship turns on the state in which the

corporation has its “principal place of business,” not its “principal business address.”
Accordingly, Anderson is ORDERED to file an amended complaint on or before
September 30, 2016, that properly alleges the citizenship of each party.
SO ORDERED.
Enter for this 16th day of September 2016.
/s/ Susan Collins
Susan Collins,
United States Magistrate Judge

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