Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-azd-2_19-cv-05841/USCOURTS-azd-2_19-cv-05841-0/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 240
Nature of Suit: Torts to Land
Cause of Action: 28:1332 Diversity-Torts to Land

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WO

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

County Mutual Insurance Company,

Plaintiff,

v. 

Wespac Construction Incorporated, et al.,

Defendants.

No. CV-19-05841-PHX-DWL

ORDER 

The Court reviewed Plaintiff’s original complaint and issued an order requiring 

Plaintiff to amend the complaint to properly allege the citizenship of AZ Fire Sprinklers, 

LLC. (Doc. 9.) Plaintiff promptly filed its first amended complaint, which alleges in 

relevant part that “Defendant AZ Fire Sprinklers, LLC (“AZ Fire”) is an Arizona limited 

liability company with its principal place of business located in Camp Verde, Yavapai 

County, Arizona. According to records maintained by the Arizona Corporation 

Commission, AZ Fire has two members, Nathan L. Jackson and Jennifer A. Jackson, both 

of whom reside in Camp Verde, Yavapai County, Arizona.” (Doc. 12 ¶ 6.)

The Court appreciates Plaintiff’s swift amendment, but unfortunately, there 

remains a defect in the jurisdictional allegations. As to individual natural persons, an 

allegation about an individual’s residence does not establish his or her citizenship for 

purposes of establishing diversity jurisdiction. “It has long been settled that residence 

and citizenship [are] wholly different things within the meaning of the Constitution and 

the laws defining and regulating the jurisdiction of the . . . courts of the United States; 

Case 2:19-cv-05841-DWL Document 13 Filed 01/02/20 Page 1 of 2
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and that a mere averment of residence in a particular state is not an averment 

of citizenship in that state for the purpose of jurisdiction.” Steigleder v. McQuesten, 198 

U.S. 141, 143 (1905). “To be a citizen of a state, a natural person must first be a citizen 

of the United States. The natural person’s state citizenship is then determined by her 

state of domicile, not her state of residence. A person’s domicile is her permanent home, 

where she resides with the intention to remain or to which she intends to return.” 

Kanter, 265 F.3d at 858-59 (emphasis added) (citations omitted).

Plaintiff failed to allege the citizenship of Nathan L. Jackson and Jennifer A. 

Jackson, who are alleged to be the two members of AZ Fire Sprinkler, LLC. This can be 

pled on information and belief. Carolina Cas. Ins. Co. v. Team Equipment, Inc., 741 

F.3d 1082, 1087 (9th Cir. 2014) (allowing plaintiff to plead jurisdictional allegations on

information and belief “where the facts supporting jurisdiction [were] not reasonably 

ascertainable by the plaintiff”).

Accordingly,

IT IS ORDERED that by January 17, 2020, Plaintiff shall file a second amended 

complaint properly alleging the citizenship of AZ Fire Sprinklers, LLC.

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that if Plaintiff fails to timely file a second

amended complaint, the clerk of the court shall dismiss this case, without prejudice, for 

lack of subject matter jurisdiction.

Dated this 2nd day of January, 2020.

Case 2:19-cv-05841-DWL Document 13 Filed 01/02/20 Page 2 of 2