Bridgestone Management LLC v. Northwest Illinois Health Alliance Inc

• Court: District Court, E.D. Wisconsin
• Decided: April 16, 2021
• Docket: 2:21-cv-00379
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN

BRIDGESTONE MANAGEMENT LLC,

Plaintiff, Case No. 21-cv-379-pp v.

COMPANION LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, NORTHWEST ILLINOIS HEALTH ALLIANCE, INC., d/b/a Northern Illinois Health Plan, and SPECTRUM UNDERWRITING MANAGERS,

Defendants.

ORDER REQUIRING THE PLAINTIFF TO FILE A JURISDICTIONAL MEMORANDUM PROVIDING INFORMATION REQUIRED BY CIVIL L.R. 8

On March 25, 2021, the plaintiff, a limited liability company, filed a complaint asserting state law claims against three defendants: Companion Life Insurance Company, Northwest Illinois Health Alliance, Inc., and Spectrum Underwriting Managers, Inc. Dkt. No. 1. The defendants are residents of South Carolina, Illinois and Indiana, respectively. Id. at ¶¶25-27. The complaint alleges that the court has subject-matter jurisdiction as a result of diversity. Id. at ¶28. Civil Local Rule 8 of the Local Rules for the Eastern District of Wisconsin requires limited liability companies asserting diversity jurisdiction to identify in their pleadings the citizenship of all members of the LLC. This is because federal courts have “an independent obligation to determine whether subject- matter jurisdiction exists, even in the absence of a challenge from any party,” Foster v. Chatman, _—iU«.S. __,, 136 S. Ct. 1737, 1745 (2016) (quoting Arbaugh v. Y&H Corp., 546 U.S. 500, 514 (2006)); given that a limited liability company has the citizenship of each member, Fellowes, Inc. v. Changzhou Xinrui Fellowes Office Equip. Co., Ltd., 759 F.3d 787, 787 (7th Cir. 2014) (citing Cosgrove v. Bartolotta, 150 F.3d 729 (7th Cir. 1998)), if any member of the LLC shares citizenship with any defendant, complete diversity does not exist and this court does not have subject-matter jurisdiction. The plaintiff has not complied with Civil L.R. 8; it has asserted only that it is a business registered in the state of Wisconsin with its principal office located in Franklin, Wisconsin. Dkt. No. 1 at 924. The court ORDERS that if the plaintiff wants to proceed with this case, then by the end of the day on May 7, 2021, it must file a jurisdictional memorandum identifying state of citizenship of each member of the LLC. The plaintiff must file the jurisdictional memorandum in time for the court to receive it by the end of the day on May 7, 2021. If the court does not receive the jurisdictional memorandum by the end of the day on May 7, 2021, the court may dismiss the case without prejudice for failure to diligently prosecute under Civil L. R. 41. Dated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin this 16th day of April, 2021. BY THE COURT:

Chief United States District Judge