Also known as: diversity jurisdictions · diversity of citizenship
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A form of federal subject-matter jurisdiction authorizing district courts to hear civil actions between citizens of different states when the amount in controversy exceeds seventy-five thousand dollars exclusive of interest and costs. Complete diversity is required so that no plaintiff shares citizenship with any defendant. Citizenship of unincorporated associations is determined by the citizenship of each member.
Destiny Davis, a citizen of Texas, sues Drake Logistics, a limited partnership whose general partner resides in Texas and whose limited partners reside in Oklahoma and Arkansas. The complaint alleges breach of a supply contract and seeks two hundred thousand dollars. Because one partner shares Texas citizenship with the plaintiff, complete diversity is absent and the federal court lacks jurisdiction.
Doris Duffy, domiciled in Illinois, sues Dixon Foods, incorporated and headquartered in Indiana, for one hundred fifty thousand dollars in damages. Duffy files the complaint while still an Illinois citizen. Two weeks later she moves to Indiana for a new job. The subsequent change in domicile leaves the existing diversity intact.
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Deborah Dunn, a North Carolina citizen, sues a South Carolina electric cooperative in federal court for injuries sustained while working on its lines. The complaint rests solely on state negligence law and seeks damages exceeding the jurisdictional amount. The federal court applies state substantive rules to the claim under diversity jurisdiction.
Dominic Drake, a Pennsylvania citizen, sues a New York railroad in federal court after a crossing accident. The complaint invokes diversity jurisdiction and seeks damages above the threshold. The court must apply Pennsylvania tort law rather than any independent federal common-law rule.
Daniel Diaz, a shareholder of a Delaware corporation, files a diversity action in federal court alleging that misleading proxy materials induced approval of a merger. The complaint seeks damages exceeding the jurisdictional amount and rests on state fiduciary-duty claims. The court exercises diversity jurisdiction over the state-law cause of action.
Devon Drake, a citizen of New York, sues an out-of-state railroad in federal court for injuries sustained in Pennsylvania. The action satisfies the amount requirement and complete diversity. The court applies Pennsylvania substantive tort law to decide liability and damages.
The citizenship of each member or partner controls. An LLC or partnership is a citizen of every state in which any of its members or partners is a citizen.
Diversity must exist when the suit is filed. Later changes in domicile do not destroy jurisdiction once it has attached.
The court retains discretion to deny costs to the plaintiff or to impose costs on the plaintiff.
Yes. In a direct action the insurer is deemed a citizen of every state of which the insured is a citizen, which can destroy complete diversity.
…granted certiorari. First. Swift v. Tyson , 16 Pet. 1, 18, held that federal courts exercising jurisdiction on the ground of diversity of citizenship need not, in matters of general jurisprudence, apply the unwritten law of the State as declared by its highest court; that they are free to exercise an independent judgment as to what the…