Supreme Court Docket Report - June 8, 2009

Originally published June 8, 2009

Keywords: jurisdiction, corporation, principal place of business, federal law, federal court, Hertz Corp. v. Friend, American Home Products Corporation v. Ferrari

Today the Supreme Court granted certiorari in one case of interest to the business community:

Jurisdiction—A Corporation's Principal Place of Business

If a case does not present a question of federal law, a federal court will in general have jurisdiction over the case only if the parties to the case are "diverse"—i.e., are citizens of different states.  Federal law provides that "a corporation shall be deemed to be a citizen of any State by which it has been incorporated and of the State where it has its principal place of business."  28 U.S.C. § 1332(c)(1).  Identifying a corporation's "principal place of business" is, accordingly, of central importance in determining whether the parties to a lawsuit are diverse for purposes of federal jurisdiction.  The Supreme