BROWN v. BMW OF NORTH AMERICA, LLC et al

Filing 28

ENTRY: Accordingly, the Court requests the Magistrate Judge to hold a conference with the parties to determine the most efficient way for the jurisdictional disagreements to be resolved, whether via briefing, a hearing, or otherwise ***SEE ORDER FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION***. Signed by Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson on 9/11/2014.(DW)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA
INDIANAPOLIS DIVISION
MARSHA RUDDELL BROWN,
Plaintiff,
vs.
BMW OF NORTH AMERICA, LLC, AND BAYERISCHE MOTOREN WERKE AG,
Defendants.

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1:14-cv-00931-JMS-DML

ENTRY
The Court has issued two Orders directing Plaintiff to file an Amended Complaint due to
defects in her jurisdictional allegations. [Filing No. 5; Filing No. 17.] Her Second Amended
Complaint adequately alleges that diversity jurisdiction is proper, [Filing No. 18 at 1-2], but Defendant BMW of North America, LLC filed an Answer stating that it “is without knowledge or
information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of [the] allegations” regarding Plaintiff’s
citizenship and denies certain allegations regarding its own citizenship, [Filing No. 21 at 2]. Defendant Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (“BMW AG”) has not filed an Answer, presumably because it has a Motion to Dismiss for Insufficient Service of Process pending. [Filing No. 24.]
The Court has an independent obligation to ensure that it possesses jurisdiction. See
Thomas v. Guardsmark, LLC, 487 F.3d 531, 533 (7th Cir. 2007). Therefore, before this case proceeds any further, the Court must resolve the outstanding jurisdictional issues. Accordingly, the
Court requests the Magistrate Judge to hold a conference with the parties to determine the most
efficient way for the jurisdictional disagreements to be resolved, whether via briefing, a hearing,
or otherwise.

_______________________________
September 11, 2014
-1Distribution via ECF to
all counsel of record

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