Krieger v. Singh

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS BRENDA KRIEGER, Administrator of the Estate of James Krieger, Plaintiff, Case No. 24-cv-2530-JPG v. GURMIT SINGH, SULTAN TRUCKING, INC., and ARMSTRONG TRANSPORT GROUP SOCAL, LLC Defendant.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER This matter comes before the Court on the motion of plaintiff Brenda Krieger, Administrator of the Estate of James Krieger, for leave to file an amended complaint omitting one defendant and adding other parties as defendants (Doc. 16). The Court DENIES the motion without prejudice because the proposed amended pleading insufficiently pleads complete diversity jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332.

Diversity jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a) requires that “no party on the plaintiff’s side of the suit shares citizenship with any party on the defendant’s side.” Page v. Dem. Nat’l Comm., 2 F.4th 630, 636 (7th Cir. 2021) (citing Strawbridge v. Curtiss, 7 U.S. (3 Cranch) 267 (1806)). To determine if complete diversity exists, the Court must examine the citizenship of each party, including corporations, limited liability companies, and other unincorporated business organizations.

An unincorporated association, including a limited liability company, is a citizen of the states of citizenship of each of its members. Page., 2 F.4th at 635. The relevant pleading must affirmatively allege the specific states of citizenship of each member of the organization.

Krieger’s proposed amended complaint fails to identify the citizenships of the members of proposed defendant Armstrong Transport Group, LLC.

Further, Krieger’s proposed amended complaint fails to identify the nature of proposed defendant SupHerb Farms, so its citizenship is impossible to determine.

Until the Court is satisfied that the additional defendants will not destroy the Court’s subject matter jurisdiction, it will not allow amendment of the complaint to add them. Krieger may file another motion to file an amended complaint that adequately alleges the citizenships of all parties in that pleading.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

DATED: January 10, 2025 s/ J. Phil Gilbert J. PHIL GILBERT DISTRICT JUDGE