Goree et al v. Stiggers et al

Filing 2

ORDER as to 1 Complaint filed by Allen Goree, III, Joey Goree: Plaintiffs shall have seven (7) days from the date of this Order to file a comprehensive amended Complaint as written. Signed by Magistrate Judge Erin Wilder-Doomes on 5/10/2018. (LLH)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA

ALLEN GOREE, III, ET AL.

CIVIL ACTION

VERSUS

NO. 18-540-BAJ-EWD

ANTHONY STIGGERS, ET AL.

ORDER
Before the Court is a Complaint for Damages filed by Allen Goree, III and Joey Goree
(collectively, “Plaintiffs”).1 In the Complaint, Plaintiffs assert that this Court has diversity
jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332.2 The Complaint contains the following allegations
regarding the citizenship of the parties:
1. Petitioners, Allen Goree, III, and Joey Goree are persons of the
full age of majority and domiciliaries of West Baton Rouge Parish,
State of Louisiana.
2. At all pertinent times, petitioners were domiciled in Port Allen,
Louisiana and were citizens of West Baton Rouge Parish in the State
of Louisiana, which is located within the district of the United States
District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana.
3. Defendant, Anthony Stiggers is, upon information and belief, a
person of the full age of majority and domiciliary of Los Angeles
County, State of California.
4. Robert Heath Trucking, Inc. is a corporation organized and
existing under the laws of the State of Texas with its principal place
of business in the State of Texas.
5. Upon information and belief, Robert Heath Trucking, Inc.
regularly conducts business within the State of Louisiana and within
the Middle District of Louisiana.
6. Great West Casualty Company is a foreign insurance company

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R. Doc. 1.
Id. at ¶ 7.

authorized to do and doing business in the State of Louisiana and
within the Middle District of Louisiana.3
Proper information regarding the citizenship of all parties is necessary to establish the
Court’s diversity jurisdiction. In the Complaint, citizenship has not been adequately alleged.
Although the citizenship of Allen Goree, III, Joey Goree, Anthony Stiggers and Robert Health
Trucking, Inc. has been adequately alleged,4 the citizenship of Great West Casualty Company
(“Great West”) has not been adequately alleged. The Complaint fails to specify what form of
entity Great West is, alleging only that it is “a foreign insurance company authorized to do and
doing business in the State of Louisiana.”5 If Great West is a corporation, Plaintiffs must allege
the entity’s place of incorporation and principal place of business. See, 28 U.S.C. § 1332(c). If,
however, Great West is an unincorporated association or a limited liability company, Plaintiffs
must allege the name and domicile of each member of the entity. See, Harvey v. Grey Wolf Drilling
Co., 542 F.3d 1077, 1080 (5th Cir. 2008).
Accordingly,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiffs shall have seven (7) days from the date of this
Order to file a comprehensive amended Complaint (i.e., it may not refer back to or rely on any
previous pleading) without further leave of Court properly setting forth the citizenship particulars
required to establish that the Court has diversity jurisdiction over this case under 28 U.S.C. §

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Id. at ¶¶ 1-6.
With respect to the Plaintiffs and Stiggers, the Fifth Circuit has explained that, “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). With respect to Robert Health Trucking, Inc., the Fifth Circuit has held that, “For diversity
jurisdiction purposes, a corporation is a citizen of the state in which it was incorporated and the state in which it has
its principal place of business.” Getty Oil, Div. of Texaco v. Ins. Co. of North America, 841 F.2d 1254, 1258 (5th Cir.
1988) (citing 28 U.S.C. § 1332(c)). 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).
5
R. Doc. 1 at ¶ 6.
4

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1332(a), which will become the operative complaint in this matter without reference to any other
document in the record.
Signed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on May 10, 2018.

S
ERIN WILDER-DOOMES
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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