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- ilnd;;1:20-cv-07235_de7 RegisterActionDate "2020-12-09" @default.
- ilnd;;1:20-cv-07235_de7 RegisterActionDescriptionText "MINUTE entry before the Honorable Steven C. Seeger: The Court reviewed the complaint (Dckt. No. 1 ), which invokes this Court's diversity jurisdiction. The jurisdictional allegations are facially inadequate. Plaintiff alleges that he is a "resident" of Illinois. But for purposes of diversity jurisdiction, citizenship is what matters, not residence. See Stoller v. Walworth County, 770 Fed. Appx. 762, 765 (7th Cir. 2019); Dakuras v. Edwards, 312 F.3d 256, 258 (7th Cir. 2002). Also, Plaintiff sued two entities, a corporation and an LLC. A corporation is a citizen of the state of incorporation and the state where it has its principal place of business. But an LLC has the citizenship of its members. See Martin v. Living Essentials, LLC, 653 Fed. App'x. 482, 485 (7th Cir. 2016). Here, Plaintiff alleges "[o]n information and belief" that Defendant L'Oreal USA Products, Inc. is a Delaware corporation with a principal place of business in New York, and that Defendant CeraVe LLC is a New York LLC (that makes no difference) with a principal place of business in New York (same). Those allegations are insufficient, for two reasons. First, a statement upon information and belief is not a solid footing for federal jurisdiction. See America's Best Inns, Inc. v. Best Inns of Abilene, LP, 980 F.2d 1072, 1074 (7th Cir. 1992); State St. Bank & Trust Co. v. Morderosian, 234 F.3d 1274, at *2 (7th Cir. 2000) ("Conclusional allegations are insufficient. A court needs to know details, such as the state of incorporation and principal place of business of each corporate party."). "[A]ffidavits alleging citizenship based on 'the best of my knowledge and belief' are, by themselves, insufficient to show citizenship in a diversity case." Medical Assur. Co., Inc. v. Hellman, 610 F.3d 371, 376 (7th Cir. 2010); see also Thomas v. Guardsmark, LLC, 487 F.3d 531, 533 (7th Cir. 2007) ("[A]n appellant's naked declaration that there is diversity of citizenship is never sufficient."); Leggitt Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 2010 WL 1416833, at *3 (S.D. Ill. 2010) (citing hordes of cases for the "extremely well settled" proposition that "allegations made on information and belief are insufficient to invoke the diversity jurisdiction of a federal court"). Second, the complaint provides insufficient information about the members of Defendant CeraVe LLC. That LLC is apparently a subsidiary of Defendant L'Oreal USA Products, Inc., but the complaint does not allege if it is wholly owned. See Thomas v. Guardsmark, LLC, 487 F.3d 531, 534 (7th Cir. 2007) ("[A]n 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."). The case presumably falls under the Class Action Fairness Act, which requires only minimal diversity. See 28 U.S.C. 1332(d)(2). But even so, the jurisdictional allegations of a complaint need to be accurate and sufficient to show diversity of citizenship, even if minimal diversity is all that's required. As things stand, the complaint does not establish that this case belongs in federal court. The complaint is stricken. The Court grants Plaintiff leave to file an amended complaint by December 22, 2020. Mailed notice. (jjr, ) (Entered: 12/09/2020)" @default.
- ilnd;;1:20-cv-07235_de7 AdministrativeID "6" @default.
- ilnd;;1:20-cv-07235_de7 hasReferenceToOtherEntry ilnd;;1:20-cv-07235_de0 @default.