ACCO Brands USA LLC v. Piñeyro y Lara Comercial S.A.

27 F. Supp. 3d 256, 2014 WL 2854485
CourtDistrict Court, D. Puerto Rico
DecidedJune 24, 2014
DocketCivil No. 13-1917 (FAB)
StatusPublished

This text of 27 F. Supp. 3d 256 (ACCO Brands USA LLC v. Piñeyro y Lara Comercial S.A.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Puerto Rico primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
ACCO Brands USA LLC v. Piñeyro y Lara Comercial S.A., 27 F. Supp. 3d 256, 2014 WL 2854485 (prd 2014).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM & ORDER

FRANCISCO A. BESOSA, District Judge.

Before the Court is defendant Piñeyro y Lara of Puerto Rico, Inc. (“PyL PR”)’s motion to dismiss the complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) (“Rule 12(b)(1)”). (Docket No. 16.) After considering defendant’s motion, as well as all relevant oppositions and replies (Docket Nos. 23 & 32), the Court now DENIES WITHOUT PREJUDICE the motion to dismiss and ORDERS jurisdictional discovery.1

I. Procedural and Factual Background

Plaintiff ACCO Brands USA LLC (“ACCO”) is a limited liability company organized under the laws of Delaware; ACCO is successor-in-interest to Mead Products LLC and the Consumer and Office Products division of MeadWestvaco Corporation, a subsidiary of plaintiff ACCO Brands Corporation. Plaintiff Tili-bra Produtos de Papelería, Ltda. is a Brazilian corporation and a subsidiary of ACCO Brands Corporation. Plaintiff ACCO Mexicana, S.A. de C.V. is a Mexican entity and a subsidiary of plaintiff ACCO Brands Corporation. Plaintiff ACCO Brands Corporation is a United States corporation incorporated in Delaware, with its principal place of business in Lake Zurich, Illinois. (Docket No. 1 at ¶¶ 3-6.)

Defendant Piñeyro y Lara Comercial S.A. (“PyL DR”) is a Dominican entity with a principal place of business in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Defendant PyL PR is a corporation organized under the laws of Puerto Rico; the parties dispute the location of its principal place of business. (Docket No. 1 at ¶¶ 7-8.)

Plaintiffs filed a declaratory judgment action against defendants on December 13, 2013. (Docket No. 1.) On February 25, 2014, defendant PyL PR moved to dismiss the complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. (Docket No. 32.) Defendants filed an answer to the complaint and a [258]*258counterclaim against plaintiffs on April 14, 2014. (Docket No. 77.) On April 28, 2014, plaintiffs moved to strike portions of defendants’ answer and counterclaim (Docket No. 80), and to dismiss PyL PR’s Law 75 counterclaim against them (Docket No. 81.)

II. Legal Standard

Defendant’s motion to dismiss challenges the factual accuracy — rather than the sufficiency — of plaintiffs’ jurisdictional allegations. See Valentin v. Hosp. Bella Vista, 254 F.3d 358, 363 (1st Cir.2001). Such a challenge permits the Court to engage in differential factfinding, under which the plaintiffs’ “jurisdictional aver-ments are entitled to no presumptive weight.” Id. Rather, the Court must resolve the factual disputes between the parties in order to rule on the merits of the jurisdictional claim. Id. (internal citations omitted). In some situations, a court presented with such a challenge may rule without a hearing, taking into consideration “whether the parties have had a full and fair opportunity to present relevant facts and arguments, and whether either party seasonably requested an evidentiary hearing.” Id. at 364.

As the party asserting diversity jurisdiction, plaintiffs carry the burden of persuasion. Hertz Corp. v. Friend, 559 U.S. 77, 96, 130 S.Ct. 1181, 175 L.Ed.2d 1029 (2010) (internal citations omitted). “When challenged on allegations of jurisdictional facts, the parties must support their allegations by competent proof.” Id. at 96-97, 130 S.Ct. 1181 (internal citations omitted).

III. Discussion

Plaintiffs assert that the Court has jurisdiction over their claims pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a)(3), which permits federal courts to exercise diversity jurisdiction over claims between “citizens of different States and in which citizens or subjects of a foreign state are additional parties.” 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a)(3). Defendant PyL PR contends that diversity does not exist over the case because (1) its principal place of business is the Dominican Republic, destroying complete diversity; and (2) plaintiff ACCO has failed to provide sufficient information for the Court to determine its citizenship. (Docket No. 32.)

A. PyL PR’s Dual Corporate Citizenship

Defendant PyL PR, as a corporation, is “deemed to be a citizen of every State and foreign state by which it has been incorporatéd and of the State or foreign state where it has its principal place of business.” 28 U.S.C. § 1332(c) (emphasis added). The parties agree that PyL PR is incorporated in Puerto Rico, and is a citizen of Puerto Rico for diversity purposes. A court determines a corporation’s principal place of business by identifying the corporation’s “ ‘nerve center,’ usually its main headquarters.” Hertz Corp., 559 U.S. at 93, 130 S.Ct. 1181. The parties dispute the location of PyL PR’s principal place of business and whether it has dual citizenship for diversity purposes.

“While the First Circuit Court of Appeals has not explicitly addressed the issue, other federal circuit courts of appeals agree that in order for a court to exercise diversity jurisdiction over a suit pursuant to section 1332(a)(3), a United States citizen must be present on both sides of the suit. See, e.g., Slavchev v. Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd., 559 F.3d 251, 254 (4th Cir.2009) (no diversity jurisdiction pursuant to section 1332(a)(2) over a suit between a citizen of Bulgaria and a corporation that was incorporated under Liberian laws and had its principal place of business in Florida); U.S. Motors v. Gen. Motors Europe, 551 F.3d 420, 422 (6th [259]*259Cir.2008) (section 1332(a)(3) requires there to be a U.S. citizen on both sides of the dispute); Universal Licensing Corp. v. Paola del Lungo S.p.A., 293 F.3d 579, 581 (2d Cir.2002) (“[Diversity is lacking within the meaning of [sections 1332(a)(2) and (3) ] where the only parties are foreign entities, or where on one side there are citizens and aliens and on the opposite side there are only aliens.”); Dresser Indus., Inc. v. Underwriters at Lloyd’s of London, 106 F.3d 494, 496-500 (3d Cir.1997) (concluding that diversity may stand where aliens appear on both sides of the dispute, as long as a U.S. citizen also appears on both sides); Allendale Mut. Ins. Co. v. Bull Data Sys., Inc., 10 F.3d 425, 428 (7th Cir.1993) (diversity jurisdiction existed pursuant to section 1332(a)(3) over a suit where U.S. citizens appeared on both sides); Las Vistas Villas, S.A. v. Petersen, 778 F.Supp.

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Related

Hertz Corp. v. Friend
559 U.S. 77 (Supreme Court, 2010)
Valentin-De-Jesus v. United Healthcare
254 F.3d 358 (First Circuit, 2001)
Slavchev v. Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd.
559 F.3d 251 (Fourth Circuit, 2009)
Igy Ocean Bay Properties, Ltd. v. Ocean Bay Properties I Ltd.
534 F. Supp. 2d 446 (S.D. New York, 2008)
U.S. Motors v. General Motors Europe
551 F.3d 420 (Sixth Circuit, 2008)
Las Vistas Villas, S.A. v. Petersen
778 F. Supp. 1202 (M.D. Florida, 1991)
Engstrom v. Hornseth
959 F. Supp. 545 (D. Puerto Rico, 1997)
Grunblatt v. UnumProvident Corp.
270 F. Supp. 2d 347 (E.D. New York, 2003)
Universal Licensing Corp. v. Paola del Lungo S.p.A.
293 F.3d 579 (Second Circuit, 2002)
Hercules Inc. v. Dynamic Export Corp.
71 F.R.D. 101 (S.D. New York, 1976)

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Bluebook (online)
27 F. Supp. 3d 256, 2014 WL 2854485, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/acco-brands-usa-llc-v-pineyro-y-lara-comercial-sa-prd-2014.