LILLARD et al v. HANSEN et al

Filing 6

ENTRY ON JURISDICTION - On July 18, 2016, the Plaintiffs filed a Complaint which fails to allege all of the facts necessary to determine whether this Court has subject matter jurisdiction. The Complaint alleges that this Court has jurisdiction based upon diversity of citizenship, however, the notice of removal fails to sufficiently allege the citizenship of the parties. In particular, the Complaint alleges that the parties are "resident[s]" of Florida and Minnesota. This allegation of residency is not sufficient to allow the Court to determine whether diversity jurisdiction exists. In addition, the Complaint fails to allege the state of incorporation of Defendant Sue Vinje Trucking, Inc. To remedy these deficiencies, the Plaintiff s shall file a supplemental jurisdictional statement to sufficiently establish this Court's jurisdiction over this case. The Plaintiffs' statement must accurately identify the citizenship of the parties and the state of incorporation. The Plaintiffs' supplemental jurisdictional statement is due fourteen (14) days after the date of this entry. Signed by Judge Tanya Walton Pratt on 8/1/2016. See Entry for details. (MAG)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA
NEW ALBANY DIVISION
MICHAEL LILLARD,
KAREN LILLARD,
JENISSE LILLARD,
JEFFREY LILLARD,

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Plaintiffs,
vs.
DANIEL HANSEN,
SUE VINJE TRUCKING, INC.,
Defendants.

No. 4:16-cv-00135-TWP-TAB

ENTRY ON JURISDICTION
On July 18, 2016, the Plaintiffs filed a Complaint which fails to allege all of the facts
necessary to determine whether this Court has subject matter jurisdiction. The Complaint alleges
that this Court has jurisdiction based upon diversity of citizenship, however, the notice of removal
fails to sufficiently allege the citizenship of the parties. Citizenship is the operative consideration
for jurisdictional purposes. See Meyerson v. Harrah’s E. Chi. Casino, 299 F.3d 616, 617 (7th Cir.
2002).
In particular, the Complaint alleges that the parties are “resident[s]” of Florida and
Minnesota. This allegation of residency is not sufficient to allow the Court to determine whether
diversity jurisdiction exists. See McHanon v. Bunn-O-Matic Corp., 150 F.3d 651, 653 (7th Cir.
1998) (“[a]n allegation of residence is inadequate”); Meyerson, 299 F.3d at 617 (“residence and
citizenship are not synonyms and it is the latter that matters for purposes of the diversity
jurisdiction”). In addition, the Complaint fails to allege the state of incorporation of Defendant
Sue Vinje Trucking, Inc.

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To remedy these deficiencies, the Plaintiffs shall file a supplemental jurisdictional
statement to sufficiently establish this Court’s jurisdiction over this case. The Plaintiffs’ statement
must accurately identify the citizenship of the parties and the state of incorporation. The Plaintiffs’
supplemental jurisdictional statement is due fourteen (14) days after the date of this entry.
SO ORDERED.

Date: 8/1/2016

Distribution:
Frederick William Schultz
GREENE & SCHULTZ
[e-mail]

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