Opinion
Civil Action No. 3:00CV-799-S
June 13, 2001
MEMORANDUM OPINION
This court ordered the plaintiff, George W. Reid ("Reid"), to show cause why his Complaint should not be dismissed without prejudice for lack of subject matter jurisdiction due to his failure to adequately demonstrate the requisite diversity of the parties. See DN 18. In response, Reid contends that he is a citizen of Kentucky and that Delaware is both the state of incorporation and the principal place of business of the defendant, Frankfort Publishing Co., L.L.C. ("Frankfort Publishing").
A party "seeking to bring a case into federal court carries the burden of establishing diversity jurisdiction." Certain Interested Underwriters at Lloyd's, London, England v. Layne, 26 F.3d 39, 41 (6th Cir. 1994) (citations omitted). Reid relies upon information obtained from the Kentucky Secretary of State's website which indicates that Frankfort Publishing's "principal office" is in Delaware.
This information can be accessed at _http://www.sos.state.ky.us/corporate2/_Type06.asp?id=0422012seq=99999ctype=06.
Ann Maenza, Frankfort Publishing's general manager ("Maenza"), has filed an affidavit which is unrefuted. See Def.'s Reply, Ex. A. According to Maenza, Frankfort Publishing's sole business enterprise is publishing the State Journal, a daily newspaper published in Frankfort, Kentucky. See id. at ¶ 2. Maenza states that Frankfort Publishing does no business in Delaware. See id. at ¶¶ 8, 9. She states that the Delaware address listed as Frankfort Publishing's "principal office" is actually the address of its agent for incorporation, the CT Corporation. See id. at ¶ 7. CT Corporation's website verifies that its Delaware address is the same as the address listed as Frankfort Publishing's "principal office" with the Kentucky Secretary of State's office. The inquiry here is where the principal place of business is, not where an office for service of process is located.
http://www.ctadvantage.com/contact_ info/contact_info_fr.html.
Based on the above, we find that diversity of citizenship between Reid and Frankfort Publishing is lacking and that, therefore, we lack subject matter jurisdiction to provide a forum for Reid's claims. Reid's Complaint will be dismissed without prejudice pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12 (h)(3).
In addition, Reid's motion for leave to amend his Complaint will be denied because the tendered Amended Complaint fails to cure the original Complaint's jurisdictional defects. See Frank v. D'Ambrosi, 4 F.3d 1378, 1386 (6th Cir. 1993) (holding that while leave to amend pleadings should be freely granted, a "court need not grant leave to amend when the amendment would be futile").
A separate order will be entered this date in accordance with this opinion.
ORDER
For the reasons set forth in the accompanying memorandum opinion, and the court being otherwise sufficiently advised, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that the plaintiff's motion to amend his complaint is DENIED.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that the plaintiff's original complaint is DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE FOR LACK OF SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION.
IT IS SO ORDERED.