Carter v. Malone Sports Center, LLC et al
Filing
68
OPINION AND ORDER: The Court ORDERS the Defendant, Malone Sports Center, LLC, to file on or before 11/14/2019, a jurisdictional statement (1) identifying its members and their citizenship as of 10/10/2017, and (2) alleging the citizenship of each nat ural person, including the trustees, by identifying the individual's domicile on 10/10/2017. Signed by Chief Judge Theresa L Springmann on 10/31/2019. (Copy mailed to pro se party) (jat) Modified on 11/1/2019 to update docket text to add opinion and order(rmc).
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA
HAMMOND DIVISION AT LAFAYETTE
TORREY CARTER,
Plaintiff,
v.
CAUSE NO.: 4:17-CV-79-TLS-JEM
MALONE SPORTS CENTER, LLC d/b/a
Elite Air; MALONE SPORTS CENTER,
LLC d/b/a Elite Air Trampoline Park;
MALONE SPORTS CENTER, LLC d/b/a
Malone Sports Equipment; MALONE
SPORTS CENTER, LLC d/b/a Elite Air
Newburgh; MALONE SPORTS CENTER,
LLC d/b/a Elite Gymnastics; MALONE
SPORTS CENTER, LLC d/b/a Elite Tennis;
MALONE SPORTS CENTER, LLC d/b/a
Lafayette Elite Tennis Academy; and
MALONE SPORTS CENTER, LLC d/b/a
Elite Tennis Academy,
Defendant.
OPINION AND ORDER
This matter is before the Court for a third time on the issue of the Court’s subject matter
jurisdiction. As of January 17, 2019, the Plaintiff is proceeding without counsel.
Federal courts, which are courts of limited jurisdiction, must police their own subject
matter jurisdiction. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(h)(3) (“If the court determines at any time that it lacks
subject-matter jurisdiction, the court must dismiss the action.”); Johnson v. United States Office
of Pers. Mgmt., 783 F.3d 655, 668 (7th Cir. 2015). The Plaintiff, having filed his Complaint in
this Court, has the burden of establishing diversity jurisdiction. Hertz Corp. v. Friend, 559 U.S.
77, 96 (2010). Diversity jurisdiction exists when the parties to an action on each side are citizens
of different states, with no defendant a citizen of the same state as any plaintiff, and the amount
in controversy exceeds $75,000. See 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a)(1).
On June 18, 2019, the Court issued an Order [ECF No. 47] finding that, although the
Complaint sufficiently alleges the Plaintiff’s citizenship (Illinois) and that the amount in
controversy exceeds $75,000.00, the Complaint does not properly allege the citizenship of
Defendant Malone Sports Center, LLC. The Complaint treats the Defendant as a corporation for
purposes of citizenship; however, the Defendant is a limited liability company, which is
analogous to a partnership and takes the citizenship of its members. See Belleville Catering Co.
v. Champaign Mkt. Place, LLC, 350 F.3d 691, 692 (7th Cir. 2003).
On June 18, 2019, the Court ordered the Plaintiff to file a supplemental jurisdictional
statement identifying the citizenship of each of the members of Defendant Malone Sports Center,
LLC as of October 10, 2017, the date the Complaint was filed. On July 8, 2019, the Plaintiff
timely filed a statement [ECF No. 50] with supporting documents, but the statement and the
documents do not identify the Defendant’s members or the citizenship of its members.
On August 21, 2019, the Court, considering the Plaintiff’s pro se status, granted the
Plaintiff a final opportunity, up to and including October 4, 2019, to identify the citizenship of
the Defendant’s members as of October 10, 2017. The Court advised that, if the October 4, 2019
filing did not provide the requisite information, the Court would direct the Defendant to provide
the jurisdictional information necessary to satisfy the Court’s inquiry on subject matter
jurisdiction. See, e.g., Johnson v. Nat’l Asset Advisors, LLC, 772 F. App’x 328, 328 (7th Cir.
2019) (requiring the defendant/appellee, a limited partnership, to provide a “complete
jurisdictional summary” naming all of its partners and identifying each partner’s state of
citizenship after the pro se plaintiffs/appellants provided an incomplete jurisdictional statement
under Seventh Circuit Rule 28(a)(1)).1
1
Rule 28 of the Seventh Circuit Rules provides:
(a) Appellant’s Jurisdictional Statement. The jurisdictional statement in appellant’s brief, see
Fed. R. App. P. 28(a)(4), must contain the following details:
2
On October 4, 2019, the Plaintiff filed a document titled “Supplemental Jurisdiction
Discovery” [ECF No. 67] and provided a document showing the mailing address of the five
members of Defendant Malone Sports Center, LLC as of December 31, 2012. The five members
are one individual and the trustees of four irrevocable trusts, with the trustees being individuals.
The Plaintiff’s filing is insufficient for two reasons. First, the statement does not identify the
members of Malone Sports Center, LLC on the date the Complaint was filed—October 10, 2017.
The five members identified as of December 31, 2012, may have also been the members on
October 10, 2017, but this information is not provided to the Court.
Second, the statement does not properly identify the citizenship on October 10, 2017, of
each of the members, all of whom are natural persons.2 The citizenship of a natural person is
determined by domicile, not by residence. Dakuras v. Edwards, 312 F.3d 256, 258 (7th Cir.
2002); see also 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., Inc. v.
J.E.G. Assocs., 101 F.3d 57, 58–59 (7th Cir. 1996) (explaining that statements concerning a
party’s residence are not proper allegations of citizenship as required by 28 U.S.C. § 1332). An
individual’s mailing address is insufficient if there is no allegation that the address is also the
(1) The statement concerning the district court’s jurisdiction shall identify the provision of the
constitution or federal statute involved if jurisdiction is based on the existence of a federal
question. If jurisdiction depends on diversity of citizenship, the statement shall identify the
jurisdictional amount and the citizenship of each party to the litigation. If any party is a
corporation, the statement shall identify both the state of incorporation and the state in which the
corporation has its principal place of business. If any party is an unincorporated association or
partnership the statement shall identify the citizenship of all members. The statement shall supply
similar details concerning the invocation of supplemental jurisdiction or other sources of
jurisdiction.
7th Cir. R. 28.
2
Because the trustees are the members of Malone Sports Center, LLC, the Court looks to the trustees’ citizenship.
See RTP LLC v. ORIX Real Estate Capital, Inc., 827 F.3d 689, 691 (7th Cir. 2016); see also Americold Realty Tr. v.
ConAgra Foods, Inc., 136 S. Ct. 1012, 1016 (2016).
3
individual’s domicile. See Pharmerica Corp. v. Crestwood Care, LLC, No. 13 C 1422, 2015 WL
1006683, at *2 (N.D. Ill. Mar. 2, 2015); Hill v. Purdue Univ., No. 2:12-CV-467, 2013 WL
1409328, at *1 (N.D. Ind. Apr. 8, 2013); Barnes v. Black, No. 03-C-703-C, 2004 WL 502022, at
*1 (W.D. Wis. Mar. 10, 2004).
Accordingly, the Court ORDERS the Defendant Malone Sports Center, LLC to FILE on
or before November 14, 2019, a jurisdictional statement (1) identifying its members and their
citizenship as of October 10, 2017, and (2) alleging the citizenship of each natural person,
including the trustees, by identifying the individual’s domicile on October 10, 2017.
SO ORDERED on October 31, 2019.
s/ Theresa L. Springmann
CHIEF JUDGE THERESA L. SPRINGMANN
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
4
Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings provides public litigation records from the federal appellate and district courts. These filings and docket sheets should not be considered findings of fact or liability, nor do they necessarily reflect the view of Justia.
Why Is My Information Online?