ANTON REALTY, LLC v. GUARDIAN BROKERS LTD., INC.

Filing 110

ORDER. For the reasons set out in this Order, the Court ORDERS the parties to file a joint jurisdictional statement by February 6, 2015, properly detailing the citizenship of each party and whether the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000, exclusive of interest and costs, along the lines set forth in this Order. If the parties cannot agree on the contents of a joint statement, competing statements must be filed by that date. Signed by Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson on 1/29/2015. (BGT)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA
INDIANAPOLIS DIVISION
ANTON REALTY, LLC and ANDY MOHR
TRUCK CENTER, INC.,
Plaintiffs,

)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)

vs.
GUARDIAN BROKERS LTD., INC. and
NATIONAL BANK OF COMMERCE, NA,
Defendants.

1:13-cv-01915-JMS-TAB

ORDER
On November 18, 2014, Plaintiffs Anton Realty, LLC (“Anton Realty”) and Andy Mohr
Truck Center, Inc. (“Andy Mohr”) filed a Third Amended Complaint against Guardian Brokers
Ltd., Inc. (“Guardian”) and National Bank of Commerce, N.A. (“National”). [Filing No. 87.] 1
While the Third Amended Complaint properly alleges that this Court has diversity jurisdiction,
Guardian’s Answer, [Filing No. 104], creates issues that the Court must resolve before it can
determine whether that is the case.
The Court is not being hyper-technical: Counsel has a professional obligation to analyze
subject-matter jurisdiction, Heinen v. Northrop Grumman Corp., 671 F.3d 669 (7th Cir. 2012),
and a federal court always has a responsibility to ensure that it has jurisdiction, Hukic v. Aurora
Loan Servs., 588 F.3d 420, 427 (7th Cir. 2009). Specifically, Guardian states in its Answer that it
is “without sufficient knowledge or information with which to admit or deny” Plaintiffs’
allegations that Andy Mohr is an Indiana corporation with its principal place of business in Indiana,
1

The Magistrate Judge recently denied Plaintiffs’ Motion for Leave to File a Fourth Amended
Complaint, [see Filing No. 93; Filing No. 109], so the Third Amended Complaint remains the
operative complaint in this case.
1

and “lacks knowledge and information sufficient to admit or deny” allegations that National is a
national banking association which has its main office in Alabama. [Filing No. 104 at 1; see also
Filing No. 87 at 1.] Because of this discrepancy, the Court cannot determine whether it has
diversity jurisdiction over this matter.
For these reasons, the Court ORDERS the parties to file a joint jurisdictional statement 2
by February 6, 2015, properly detailing the citizenship of each party and whether the amount in
controversy exceeds $75,000, exclusive of interest and costs, along the lines set forth in this Order.
If the parties cannot agree on the contents of a joint statement, competing statements must be filed
by that date.

January 29, 2015

_______________________________
Hon. Jane Magnus-Stinson, Judge
United States District Court
Southern District of Indiana

Distribution via ECF only to all counsel of record

2

The Court notes that Anton Realty and Guardian previously filed a Joint Jurisdictional Statement,
[Filing No. 8], which the Court accepted as sufficient to establish diversity jurisdiction at that point
in the litigation, [Filing No. 9]. But the previous Joint Jurisdictional Statement did not address the
citizenship of Andy Mohr or National – the two parties whose citizenships remain at issue.
2