Gruber v. Cerave LLC et al
| Jake Gruber |
| L'Oreal USA Products, Inc. and Cerave LLC |
| 1:2020cv07235 |
| December 7, 2020 |
| US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois |
| Steven C Seeger |
| Other Fraud |
| 28 U.S.C. ยง 1332 |
| Both |
Docket Report
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This docket was last retrieved on January 12, 2021. A more recent docket listing may be available from PACER.
| Document Text |
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| Filing 8 WAIVER OF SERVICE returned executed by Jake Gruber. Cerave LLC waiver sent on 1/8/2021, answer due 3/9/2021; L'Oreal USA Products, Inc. waiver sent on 1/8/2021, answer due 3/9/2021. (Friedman, Todd) |
| Filing 7 AMENDED complaint by Jake Gruber against All Defendants (Perry, Steven) |
| Filing 6 MINUTE entry before the Honorable Steven C. Seeger: The Court reviewed the complaint (Dckt. No. #1 ), which invokes this Court's diversity jurisdiction. The jurisdictional allegations are facially inadequate. Plaintiff alleges that he is a "resident" of Illinois. But for purposes of diversity jurisdiction, citizenship is what matters, not residence. See Stoller v. Walworth County, 770 Fed. Appx. 762, 765 (7th Cir. 2019); Dakuras v. Edwards, 312 F.3d 256, 258 (7th Cir. 2002). Also, Plaintiff sued two entities, a corporation and an LLC. A corporation is a citizen of the state of incorporation and the state where it has its principal place of business. But an LLC has the citizenship of its members. See Martin v. Living Essentials, LLC, 653 Fed. App'x. 482, 485 (7th Cir. 2016). Here, Plaintiff alleges "[o]n information and belief" that Defendant L'Oreal USA Products, Inc. is a Delaware corporation with a principal place of business in New York, and that Defendant CeraVe LLC is a New York LLC (that makes no difference) with a principal place of business in New York (same). Those allegations are insufficient, for two reasons. First, a statement upon information and belief is not a solid footing for federal jurisdiction. See America's Best Inns, Inc. v. Best Inns of Abilene, LP, 980 F.2d 1072, 1074 (7th Cir. 1992); State St. Bank & Trust Co. v. Morderosian, 234 F.3d 1274, at *2 (7th Cir. 2000) ("Conclusional allegations are insufficient. A court needs to know details, such as the state of incorporation and principal place of business of each corporate party."). "[A]ffidavits alleging citizenship based on 'the best of my knowledge and belief' are, by themselves, insufficient to show citizenship in a diversity case." Medical Assur. Co., Inc. v. Hellman, 610 F.3d 371, 376 (7th Cir. 2010); see also Thomas v. Guardsmark, LLC, 487 F.3d 531, 533 (7th Cir. 2007) ("[A]n appellant's naked declaration that there is diversity of citizenship is never sufficient."); Leggitt Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 2010 WL 1416833, at *3 (S.D. Ill. 2010) (citing hordes of cases for the "extremely well settled" proposition that "allegations made on information and belief are insufficient to invoke the diversity jurisdiction of a federal court"). Second, the complaint provides insufficient information about the members of Defendant CeraVe LLC. That LLC is apparently a subsidiary of Defendant L'Oreal USA Products, Inc., but the complaint does not allege if it is wholly owned. See Thomas v. Guardsmark, LLC, 487 F.3d 531, 534 (7th Cir. 2007) ("[A]n LLC's jurisdictional statement must identify the citizenship of each of its members as of the date the complaint or notice of removal was filed, and, if those members have members, the citizenship of those members as well."). The case presumably falls under the Class Action Fairness Act, which requires only minimal diversity. See 28 U.S.C. 1332(d)(2). But even so, the jurisdictional allegations of a complaint need to be accurate and sufficient to show diversity of citizenship, even if minimal diversity is all that's required. As things stand, the complaint does not establish that this case belongs in federal court. The complaint is stricken. The Court grants Plaintiff leave to file an amended complaint by December 22, 2020. Mailed notice. (jjr, ) |
| Filing 5 MINUTE entry before the Honorable Steven C. Seeger: An initial status report is due by February 22, 2021. Counsel must read the Standing Order entitled "Initial Status Conferences and Joint Initial Status Reports" on the Court's website. The parties must confer as required by Rule 26(f) about the nature, scope, and duration of discovery. The parties must submit two documents to the Court. First, the parties must file the Joint Initial Status Report under Rule 26(f) on the docket. A Word version of the Joint Initial Status Report is available on the Court's website. All parties must participate in the preparation and filing of the Joint Initial Status Report. The Court requires a joint report, so a filing by one side or the other is not sufficient. Second, the parties must email a Word version of a proposed Scheduling Order under Rule 16(b) to the Court's proposed order inbox. Lead counsel for the parties must participate in filing the initial status report. Plaintiff must serve this Order on all other parties. If the defendant has not been served with process, plaintiff's counsel must contact the Courtroom Deputy at jessica_j_ramos@ilnd.uscourts.gov to reschedule the initial status report deadline. Plaintiff should not file the Joint Initial Status Report before the defendant(s) has been served with process. The parties must discuss settlement in good faith and make a serious attempt to resolve this case amicably. All counsel of record must read and comply with this Court's Standing Orders on its webpage. Please pay special attention to the Standing Orders about Depositions and Discovery. Mailed notice. (jjr, ) |
| SUMMONS Issued as to Defendants Cerave LLC, L'Oreal USA Products, Inc. (lxk, ) |
| CASE ASSIGNED to the Honorable Steven C. Seeger. Designated as Magistrate Judge the Honorable M. David Weisman. Case assignment: Random assignment. (cm, ) |
| Filing 4 ATTORNEY Appearance for Plaintiff Jake Gruber by David B. Levin (Levin, David) |
| Filing 3 ATTORNEY Appearance for Plaintiff Jake Gruber by Steven Gene Perry (Perry, Steven) |
| Filing 2 ATTORNEY Appearance for Plaintiff Jake Gruber by Todd M Friedman (Friedman, Todd) |
| Filing 1 COMPLAINT filed by Jake Gruber; Jury Demand. Filing fee $ 402, receipt number 0752-17715495. (Attachments: #1 Civil Cover Sheet)(Friedman, Todd) |
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