Blau v. Rappaport
Blau v. Rappaport
Opinion of the Court
MEMORANDUM
This action involves a partnership dispute. It was originally filed in the Court of Common Pleas of Montgomery County, Pennsyl
The two plaintiffs and the four individual defendants are the general partners of Harbour Associates (“Harbour”).
It is well settled that this court must examine the question of its jurisdiction despite the parties’ failure to raise the issue. The Comí; of Appeals for the Third Circuit has explained:
This is so because the federal courts are without power to adjudicate the substantive claims in a lawsuit, absent a firm bedrock of jurisdiction. When the foundation of federal authority is, in a particular instance, open to question, it is incumbent upon the courts to resolve such doubts, one way or the other, before proceeding to a disposition of the merits.
Carlsberg Resources Corp. v. Cambria Savings and Loan Ass’n, 554 F.2d 1254, 1256 (3d Cir. 1977). The “party who urges jurisdiction on a federal court bears the burden of proving that jurisdiction exists.” Boyer v. Snap-On Tools Corp., 913 F.2d 108, 111 (3d Cir. 1990), cert. denied, 498 U.S. 1085, 111 S.Ct. 959, 112 L.Ed.2d 1046 (1991). Here, as in all removal eases, it is the defendants who bear this burden. Abels v. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co., 770 F.2d 26, 29 (3d Cir. 1985).
The complaint alleges that each plaintiff has “a residential address” in New Jersey and that all of the individual defendants have “a residential address” in Pennsylvania.
For purposes of diversity jurisdiction, a partnership is considered a citizen of each state in which its partners are citizens. Carden v. Arkoma Assoc., 494 U.S. 185, 187, 110 S.Ct. 1015, 1016-17, 108 L.Ed.2d 157 (1990); Carlsberg Resources, 554 F.2d at 1258. To determine the citizenship of defendant Fire Road, this court must look to the citizenship of its partners, Kasco and Harbour. It is undisputed that Kasco is deemed a citizen of Pennsylvania pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332(c)(1). To determine the citizenship of Harbour, a general partnership, this court must consider the citizenship of its six partners, the individual parties to this action. Since it appears that plaintiffs are citizens of New Jersey and that the individual defendants are citizens of Pennsylvania, Harbour is a citizen of both New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Harbour’s dual citizenship must be imputed to defendant Fire Road. Id. Thus, Fire Road is also a citizen of both New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The presence of New Jersey citizens on both sides of the case destroys complete diversity. Carden, 494 U.S. at 187, 110 S.Ct. at 1016-17; Carlsberg Resources, 554 F.2d at 1257-58. Accordingly, this court must dismiss the action for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.
ORDER
AND NOW, this 23rd day of August, 1994, for the reasons set forth in the accompanying Memorandum, it is hereby ORDERED that
. Harbour is not named as a defendant.
. A parly’s residence is evidence of his or her citizenship but is not determinative of the issue. See, e.g., Houston v. Astle, 435 F.2d 847, 848 (3d Cir. 1970). The parties do not dispute that plaintiffs and individual defendants are citizens of different states.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Stephen F. BLAU and Gloria M. Friedman v. Louis RAPPAPORT, Ind. and t/a Harbour Associates Jonathan Gelman, Ind. and t/a Harbour Associates Samuel Rappaport, Ind. and t/a Harbour Associates Jacob Zatuchni, Ind. and t/a Harbour Associates Fire Road Associates Kasco Construction Company
- Status
- Published