Brown v. KINGSPORT PUBLISHING CORPORATION, Civ. A. No. 2500.
| Decision Date | 22 January 1971 |
| Docket Number | Civ. A. No. 2500. |
| Citation | 321 F. Supp. 1352 |
| Parties | Athan M. BROWN, Plaintiff, v. KINGSPORT PUBLISHING CORPORATION, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Tennessee |
John S. McLellan, Lynn M. Lauderback, Boyd & Lauderback, Kingsport, Tenn., for plaintiff.
Ernest F. Smith, W. Scott Trundle, Kingsport, Tenn., for defendant.
This is a civil action. The plaintiff invoked the diversity jurisdiction of this Court, 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a), (1), (c). The defendant moved to dismiss the complaint, on the ground that diversity is lacking between the parties, and that this Court lacks jurisdiction of the subject matter of the suit. Rule 12(b) (1), Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. An evidentiary hearing on the issue, whether the principal place of business of the corporate defendant is in Ohio or Tennessee, 28 U.S.C. § 1332(c), was conducted on November 19, 1970. Final briefs have now been provided.
It is conceded by both parties that the plaintiff is a citizen of Tennessee, and that the defendant is incorporated by Ohio and is not incorporated by Tennessee. It is the contention of the defendant that its principal place of business is in Tennessee, while the plaintiff contends that the defendant's principal place of business for its Tennessee operations is in Ohio, giving rise to diversity jurisdiction here. Thus, a pure question of fact is presented. Overton v. Rainbo Baking Company of Johnson City, D.C.Tenn. (1964), 239 F. Supp. 800, 801 4.
The defendant corporation is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sandusky Newspapers, Incorporated, a family-held Ohio corporation with its principal place of business in Ohio. All meetings of the defendant's directors, each of whom is an Ohio citizen, are conducted in Sandusky, Ohio. Capital expenditure and other corporate matters are determined there, including the recent authorization of the construction of a new building in Tennessee. The defendant's president and treasurer Mr. Dudley A. White is a citizen of Ohio and has his office there. Mr. White receives in Ohio monthly profit-and-loss statements from the Tennessee operations. Advertising lineage of the Tennessee newspapers is computed there. An Ohio accounting firm represents the Tennessee newspapers and prepares consolidated income tax returns for four companion corporations, of which the defendant is one. Each page of the Tennessee newspapers is microfilmed in Ohio. The defendant maintains a bank checking account in Ohio and makes withdrawals on the signature of Mr. White.
There are frequent interchanges of memoranda between Mr. White and Mr. E. G. Heiberger, vice president and publisher of the defendant's newspapers in Tennessee. There are also telephoned communications between the two, less than weekly. These two officials selected the architect for the defendant's new building. On rare occasions Mr. White comes to Tennessee to consult with local legal counsel and Mr. Heiberger.
The defendant publishes the morning Kingsport News, the afternoon Kingsport Times, and the Sunday Kingsport...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Lefkowitz v. Lider
...941 (S.D.N.Y.1967); 5A J. Moore & J. Lucas, Moore's Federal Practice ¶ 52.08, at 2738-39 (1977). See also Brown v. Kingsport Publishing Corp., 321 F.Supp. 1352, 1353 (E.D.Tenn.1971). It is well-settled law that in a case brought under the Court's diversity jurisdiction, no plaintiff can be ......
-
Riggs v. ISLAND CREEK COAL COMPANY, Civ. A. No. 70-227.
...F.2d 943 (10th Cir. 1944); Gilardi v. Atchison, Topeka, & Sante Fe RR. Co., 189 F.Supp. 82 (N.D.Ill.1960); Brown v. Kingsport Publishing Corp., 321 F.Supp. 1352 (E.D.Tenn.1971); Nassau Sports v. Peters, 352 F.Supp. 867 (E.D.N.Y.1972), which is best reviewed by a survey of the total activity......
-
Riggs v. Island Creek Coal Co.
...the clearly erroneous rule. American Foundation, Inc. v. Mountain Lake Corp., 454 F.2d 200 (5th Cir. 1972); Brown v. Kingsport Publishing Corp., 321 F.Supp. 1352 (E.D.Tenn.1971). While we agree with the cited cases that a mining corporation's headquarters may not invariably govern the locat......
-
Sears, Roebuck and Co. v. Reliance Ins. Co.
... ... SEARS, ROEBUCK AND CO., a New York corporation, Plaintiff-Appellee, ... RELIANCE INSURANCE ... ...