In an era of growing international trade, the issue of when a federal court will exercise jurisdiction over a case involving foreign corporations with a principal place of business in the United States is of escalating importance. A definite answer to the subject matter jurisdiction questions which arise there from will alleviate uncertainty among litigants and their attorneys as to whether a case will be dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. One critical question is, can a foreign corporation, with a principal place of business in the United States, be considered only a citizen of the state in which that principal of business is located for diversity jurisdiction purposes, thus, in effect, eliminating the country of incorporation portion of corporate dual citizenship.
On January 27 in Caribbean Telecom., the Honorable Judge Harold Ackerman, after “careful consideration of the statute’s language, history, and purpose,” found that an alien corporation with a principal place of business in the U.S. is a dual citizen for diversity jurisdiction purposes. As a result, diversity jurisdiction is lacking for a sole plaintiff, foreign corporation with a principal place of business in the U.S.. This is because such a plaintiff will fail to demonstrate that it satisfies diversity requirements for both corporate citizenship designations. Caribbean Telecom. Ltd. v. Guyana Tel. & Tel. Co . Ltd. , 594 F.Supp.2d 522 (D.N.J. 2009).
