Dantin v. Southern Home Care Service, Inc. et al

Filing 26

ORDER regarding 25 Motion for Leave of Court to File Amending Complaint filed by Karen Dantin : For the written reasons stated herein, Plaintiff shall have 7 days from the date of this Order to file a Motion to Substitute the proposed Second Supplemental and Amended Petition. Signed by Magistrate Judge Erin Wilder-Doomes on 8/10/17. (DCB)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA

KAREN DANTIN, ON BEHALF OF
CHRISTOPHER TEMPLETON

CIVIL ACTION

VERSUS

NO. 16-692-SDD-EWD

SOUTHERN HOME CARE
SERVICE, INC. ET AL.

ORDER
Before the Court is Plaintiff’s Motion for Leave of Court to File Amending Complaint (the
“Motion”), filed by plaintiff Karen Dantin on August 9, 2017.1 Defendant Southern Home Care
Service, Inc. removed this matter from state court on October 18, 2016, asserting that the Court
has diversity jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a).2 Plaintiff filed the instant Motion
seeking to name Normal Life of Lafayette, Inc. as a defendant in the place of Southern Home Care
Service, Inc.3 Without explanation, Plaintiff refers to the defendant as both “Southern Home Care
Service, Inc.”4 and “Southern Home Care, Inc.”5 throughout the Motion. However, it appears
Plaintiff is attempting to add Normal Life of Lafayette, Inc. as a defendant in this case, while
removing Southern Home Care Service, Inc. as a defendant.
Plaintiff’s proposed Second Supplemental and Amended Petition,6 however, fails to
adequately allege the citizenship of the parties and continues to name Southern Home Care

1

R. Doc. 25.
R. Doc. 1 at ¶ 1.
3
R. Doc. 25 at p. 1.
4
R. Doc. 25 at ¶¶ 5-7, 11, 13, 14, 15.
5
R. Doc. 25 at ¶¶ 7, 9, 10, 11, 12.
6
R. Doc. 25-1.
2

Service, Inc. as a defendant. The proposed Second Supplemental and Amended Petition makes
the following allegations regarding the citizenship of the parties:
I.
Your Plaintiff is KAREN DANTIN, a person of the full age of
majority who is a resident of and domiciled in the Parish of West
Baton Rouge, State of Louisiana. KAREN DANTIN is appearing
herein, individually and on behalf of her son, CHRISTOPHER
TEMPLETON, who is also a resident of and domiciled in the Parish
of West Baton Rouge, State of Louisiana.
II.
Your defendant is NORMAL LIFE OF LAFAYETTE, INC., who
shows its domicile address as 8550 United Plaza Blvd., Baton
Rouge, Louisiana 70809, and its principle office address as 8550
United Plaza Blvd., Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70809.
III.
Defendant, Southern Home Care Service, Inc. (hereinafter referred
to as “Southern Home Care”) is liable to Plaintiff for abuse and
neglect suffered by Christopher Templeton, as is more fully
described as follows:7
Proper information regarding the citizenship of all parties is necessary to establish the
Court’s diversity jurisdiction, as well as to make the determination required under 28 U.S.C. §
1447(e) when a plaintiff seeks to join additional defendants after removal. Citizenship has not
been adequately alleged in the Second Supplemental and Amended Petition. While the citizenship
of Plaintiff, Karen Dantin, has been adequately alleged,8 the citizenship of Normal Life of
Lafayette, Inc. and Southern Home Care Service, Inc. has not been adequately alleged in the
Second Supplemental and Amended Petition.

As stated in the prior Order issued by the

undersigned on August 3, 2017,9 for purposes of diversity, a corporation is a citizen of its place of
incorporation and its principal place of business. 28 U.S.C. §1332(c). See also, Getty Oil, Div. of

7

R. Doc. 25-1 at ¶¶ I-III.
The Fifth Circuit has held, “For diversity purposes, citizenship means domicile; mere residence in the State is not
sufficient.” Mas v. Perry, 489 F.2d 1396, 1399 (5th Cir. 1974) (citations omitted).
9
R. Doc. 24.
8

2

Texaco v. Ins. Co. of North America, 841 F.2d 1254, 1259 (5th Cir. 1988) (In diversity cases
involving corporations, “allegations of citizenship must set forth the state of incorporation as well
as the principal place of business of each corporation.”). Thus, to properly allege the citizenship
of a corporation, a party must identify the place of incorporation and the corporation’s principal
place of business in accordance with the requirements of 28 U.S.C. § 1332(c).
Accordingly,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff shall have seven (7) days from the date of this
Order to file a Motion to Substitute the proposed Second Supplemental and Amended Petition10
with a proposed pleading that is a comprehensive amended complaint that includes all of Plaintiff’s
numbered allegations, as revised, supplemented, and/or amended, and adequately alleges the
citizenship of all parties, which will become the operative complaint in this matter without
reference to any other document in the record.
Signed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on August 10, 2017.

S
ERIN WILDER-DOOMES
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

10

R. Doc. 25-1.
3