Wayne Chemical Inc v. Terpening, No. 1:2008cv00269 - Document 9 (N.D. Ind. 2008)

Court Description: OPINION AND ORDER re 1 COMPLAINT with Jury Demand filed by Plaintiff Wayne Chemical Inc. Plaintiff ORDERED to file an Amended Complaint forthwith that properly discloses the citizenship of the Defendant. Signed by Magistrate Judge Roger B Cosbey on 11/17/08. (cer)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA FORT WAYNE DIVISION WAYNE CHEMICAL, INC., Plaintiff, v. DALE TERPENING, Defendant. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) CAUSE NO. 1:08-CV-269 OPINION AND ORDER Plaintiff Wayne Chemical, Inc., brought this case in this Court based on diversity jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a). (Docket # 1.) The complaint alleges that Wayne Chemical is an Indiana corporation with its principal place of business in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and that Defendant Dale Terpening is a resident of the state of Ohio. (Compl. ¶¶ 2, 3.) Plaintiff s complaint, however, is inadequate. This is because the residency of each party is meaningless for purposes of diversity jurisdiction, as citizenship is what matters. 1 Guar. Nat l Title Co. v. J.E.G. Assocs., 101 F.3d 57, 58-59 (7th Cir. 1996) (explaining that statements concerning a party s residency are not proper allegations of citizenship as required by 28 U.S.C. § 1332); see 28 U.S.C. § 1332. It is well-settled that when the parties allege residence but not citizenship, the court must dismiss the suit. Held v. Held, 137 F.3d 998, 1000 1 For purposes of determining diversity jurisdiction, each party s citizenship must be articulated as of the time of the filing of the complaint, rather than the date the claims are alleged to have arisen or some other time material to the lawsuit. Multi-M Int l, Inc. v. Paige Med. Supply Co., 142 F.R.D. 150, 152 (N.D. Ill. 1992). Moreover, [a]llegations of federal subject matter jurisdiction may not be made on the basis of information and belief, only personal knowledge. Yount v. Shashek, No. Civ. 06-753-GPM, 2006 WL 4017975, at *10 n.1 (S.D. Ill. Dec. 7, 2006) (citing Am. s Best Inns, Inc. v. Best Inns of Abilene, L.P., 980 F.2d 1072, 1074 (7th Cir. 1992)); Ferolie Corp. v. Advantage Sales & Mktg., LLC, No. 04 C 5425, 2004 WL 2433114, at *1 (N.D. Ill. Oct. 28, 2004); Hayes v. Bass Pro Outdoor World, LLC, No. 02 C 9106, 2003 WL 187411, at *2 (N.D. Ill. Jan. 21, 2003); Multi-M Int l, Inc., 142 F.R.D. at 152. (7th Cir. 1998) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted)); see generally Smoot v. Mazda Motors of Am., Inc., 469 F.3d 675, 677-78 (7th Cir. 2006). Therefore, the Court must be advised of each party s citizenship, not residency. As to Defendant Dale Terpening, [f]or natural persons, state citizenship is determined by one s domicile. Dausch v. Rykse, 9 F.3d 1244, 1245 (7th Cir. 1993); see also Am. s Best Inns, Inc., 980 F.2d at 1074 ( In federal law citizenship means domicile, not residence. ). Therefore, the Plaintiff is ORDERED to file an amended complaint forthwith that properly discloses the citizenship of the Defendant. SO ORDERED. Enter for this 17th day of November, 2008. /S/ Roger B. Cosbey Roger B. Cosbey, United States Magistrate Judge 2

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