Alienage
Jurisdiction and a Very Foreign Entity
A recent decision of a
Wisconsin Federal District Court reviewed several issues with respect to
alienage jurisdiction, including the troubling question of how to classify
non-U.S. entities. Principle Solutions LLC v. Feed.Ing BV, Case No. 13-C-223 (Ed.
Wisc. June 25, 2013).
On the basis of alienage
jurisdiction (28 USC § 1332(a)(2)), Principle Solutions LLC brought suit
against Feed.Ing BV. Ultimately,
Principle got nearly everything wrong in its allegation of jurisdiction.
With respect to itself,
Principle pled that it was organized and had its principal place of business in
Wisconsin, and that all of its members are considered citizens of Wisconsin for
purposes of assessing jurisdiction. With
respect to the assertion of the LLC's principal place of business, the court
noted that issue is “irrelevant.”
Rather, Principle was directed to “allege each member of the [LLC] and
its citizenship.”
With respect to the defendants,
Principle asserted in the complaint:
Defendant Feed is, upon information
and belief, a limited liability company located in The Netherlands and
organized in accordance with Dutch law.
Upon information and belief, no member of Feed is a resident of the
State of Wisconsin.
With respect to the assertions
as to Feed, first, they were criticized for being based upon “information and
belief,” the court writing that “It is well-settled that a plaintiff claiming
diversity jurisdiction may not do so on the basis of information and belief,
only personal knowledge is sufficient.”
Second, the court directed that an amended complaint be filed that as
well provides factual information regarding the nature of a Dutch Besloten Vennootschap
and whether it should, for purposes of jurisdictional analysis, be treated as a
corporation or as an unincorporated entity, and from there set forth the
necessary allegations as to citizenship.
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