BLEVINS v. GAMING ENTERTAINMENT (INDIANA) LLC et al

Filing 6

ENTRY ON JURISDICTION - Plaintiff is ORDERED to file a Supplemental Jurisdictional Statement that establishes the Court's jurisdiction over this case. This statement should specifically identify the citizenship of the parties. This jurisdictional statement is due fourteen (14) days from the date of this Entry. See Entry for details. Signed by Judge Tanya Walton Pratt on 5/15/2017. (MAT)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA
NEW ALBANY DIVISION
TAMMY BLEVINS,
Plaintiff,
v.
GAMING ENTERTAINMENT (INDIANA)
LLC doing business as RISING STAR
CASINO RESORT,
FULL HOUSE RESORTS, INC. doing
business as RISING STAR CASINO
RESORT,
Defendants.

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Case No. 4:17-cv-00083-TWP-TAB

ENTRY ON JURISDICTION
It has come to the Court’s attention that Plaintiff’s Complaint fails to allege all of the facts
necessary to determine whether the Court has subject matter jurisdiction over this case. The
Complaint alleges jurisdiction based upon diversity of citizenship. However, the Complaint fails
to sufficiently allege the citizenship of the parties. Citizenship is the operative consideration for
jurisdictional purposes. See Meyerson v. Harrah’s East Chicago Casino, 299 F.3d 616, 617 (7th
Cir. 2002) (“residence and citizenship are not synonyms and it is the latter that matters for purposes
of the diversity jurisdiction”). The Complaint alleges “Plaintiff, Tammy Blevins, is and at all times
pertinent hereto was a resident of the state of Kentucky and presently resides at 520 Rose Creek
Drive, Radcliff, Kentucky 40160.” (Filing No. 1 at 2.) The allegation of residency, rather than
citizenship, is insufficient to allow the Court to determine whether diversity jurisdiction exists.
Additionally, the citizenship of a corporation is “both the state of incorporation and the
state in which the corporation has its principal place of business.” Westfield Ins. Co. v. Kuhns,
2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 138262, at *3 (S.D. Ind. Nov. 30, 2011). The Complaint asserts:

Defendant, Full House Resort, Inc. d/b/a Rising Star Casino Resort, is and at all
times pertinent hereto was Delaware Corporation with a principal place of business
located at 4670 S. Ft. Apache Rd, Suite 190, Las Vegas, Nevada 89147, and
operates a casino resort located at 777 Rising Star Drive, Rising Sun, Indiana
47040.
(Filing No. 1 at 2.) This jurisdictional allegation does not establish the citizenship of Defendant
Full House Resort, Inc., because it fails to allege the state of incorporation.
Further, “[f]or diversity jurisdiction purposes, the citizenship of an LLC is the citizenship
of each of its members.” Thomas v. Guardsmark, LLC, 487 F.3d 531, 534 (7th Cir. 2007).
“Consequently, an LLC’s jurisdictional statement must identify the citizenship of each of its
members as of the date the complaint or notice of removal was filed, and, if those members have
members, the citizenship of those members as well.” Id.
The Complaint states “Defendant, Gaming Entertainment (Indiana) LLC d/b/a Rising Star
Casino Resort is and at all times pertinent hereto was a Nevada Limited Liability Company with a
principal place of business located at 4670 S. Ft. Apache Rd, Suite 190, Las Vegas, Nevada 89147,
and operates a casino resort located at 777 Rising Star Drive, Rising Sun, Indiana 47040.” (Filing
No. 1 at 2.) This jurisdictional allegation does not establish the citizenship of Defendant Gaming
Entertainment, LLC. Alleging the identity and citizenship of each of the members of the Defendant
limited liability company is necessary for this Court to determine whether it has jurisdiction.
Plaintiff is ORDERED to file a Supplemental Jurisdictional Statement that establishes the
Court’s jurisdiction over this case. This statement should specifically identify the citizenship of
the parties. This jurisdictional statement is due fourteen (14) days from the date of this Entry.
SO ORDERED.

Date: 5/15/2017

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Distribution:
Rheanne D. Falkner
MILLER & FALKNER
[e-mail]

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