Welch v. American Family Mutual Insurance Co.

Full title: VICKIE WELCH, ET AL v. AMERICAN FAMILY MUTUAL INSURANCE CO., ET AL

Court: United States District Court, W.D. Louisiana, Shreveport Division

Date published: Sep 24, 2010

CIVIL ACTION NO. 10-cv-1200 (W.D. La. Sep. 24, 2010)

Opinion

CIVIL ACTION NO. 10-cv-1200.

September 24, 2010

MEMORANDUM ORDER

MARK HORNSBY, Magistrate Judge

Vickie and Michael Welch, citizens of Louisiana, filed suit in state court for recovery of personal injury damages. The defendants removed the case based on an assertion of diversity jurisdiction. Defendants represent that they are citizens of Wisconsin, Oklahoma, and Illinois.

Before the court is a Motion for Leave to File Intervention (Doc. 5) by which LEMIC, Louisiana Mutual Insurance Company seeks to intervene and recover worker's compensation benefits paid to Vickie Welch as a result of the work-related accident. LEMIC describes itself only as "a Louisiana mutual insurance company."

There must be diversity of citizenship between the worker's compensation intervenor and the defendants in the case. Dushane v. Gallagher Kaiser Corp., 2005 WL 1959151 (W.D. La. 2005). The proposed complaint in intervention does not adequately describe LEMIC's citizenship to determine whether the court may exercise jurisdiction over the proposed intervention. Accordingly, the Motion for Leave to File Intervention (Doc. 5) is denied without prejudice to the right of LEMIC to assert the motion again, provided the proposed complaint in intervention sets forth its citizenship with specificity.

If LEMIC is a corporation, it will need to state with specificity (1) the state in which it is incorporated, and (2) the state in which it has its principal place of business. If LEMIC is another form of entity, such as an unincorporated association, it will have to allege its citizenship with specificity in accordance with the rules applicable to that form of entity. Some insurance companies are not corporations and, rather, are unincorporated associations that require consideration of the citizenship of every member. Some such companies have members residing in all 50 states so that diversity is never possible. See e.g., Norton v. Gurley, 2000 WL 1408168 (E.D. La. 2000). If LEMIC renews its motion, it should take care to ascertain and allege with specificity what form of legal entity the insurer takes.

LEMIC will be allowed until October 15, 2010 to renew its motion. If it does not do so by that date, the court will set a scheduling conference and proceed with the litigation without LEMIC.

THUS DONE AND SIGNED in Shreveport, Louisiana, this 24th day of September, 2010.