Herr et al v. Linde Inc

Filing 35

ORDER signed by Judge Rudolph T. Randa on 7/31/2015 DENYING 29 Plaintiff's Motion to Strike. Parties to address citizenship of defendant when briefing summary judgment motion. (cc: all counsel) (cb)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN
JANICE J. HERR, individually and as
Special Administrator on behalf of
THE ESTATE OF RICHARD J. HERR,
Deceased,
Plaintiff,
-vs-

Case No. 10-C-1114

LINDE LLC, improperly sued as Linde, Inc.,
f/k/a the BOC Group, Inc. and/or Airco, Inc.,
Defendant.
DECISION AND ORDER

The plaintiff, Janice Herr, moves to strike the motion for summary
judgment filed by the remaining defendant in this case, Linde, LLC,
formerly known as the BOC Group, Inc.. Herr argues that the motion is
untimely pursuant to the scheduling order established by the MDL court.
Even so, the Court would prefer to address the merits of the defendant’s
arguments instead of conducting a trial that is potentially unnecessary.
Therefore, the motion to strike [ECF No. 29] is DENIED.
The Court also notes some confusion over the citizenship of the
defendant. This matter was removed from state court and subsequently
transferred to the Eastern District of Pennsylvania for consolidated

pretrial proceedings, MDL Docket No. 875. Subject matter jurisdiction is
premised upon diversity of citizenship, 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a), and the
citizenship of a limited liability company is the citizenship of each of its
members. Thomas v. Guardsmark, LLC, 487 F.3d 531, 534 (7th Cir. 2007).
Before proceeding to resolution, the Court must be assured that none of the
defendant’s members are Wisconsin citizens. The parties should address
this issue in the briefing that flows from the pending motion for summary
judgment. See ECF No. 34.
Dated at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, this 31st day of July, 2015.
SO ORDERED:
__________________________
HON. RUDOLPH T. RANDA
U.S. District Judge

-2-