US SUPREME COURT DETERMINES PRINCIPLE PLACE OF BUSINESS FOR CORPORATIONS
The United States Supreme Court recently held that the principle place of business for a corporation, for purposes of determining whether a federal court has diversity jurisdiction under 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1332(c)(1), is that place where:
a corporation’s officers direct, control, and coordinate the corporation’s activities. It is the place that Courts of Appeals have called the corporation’s “nerve center.” And in practice it should normally be the place where the corporation maintains its headquarters—provided that the headquarters is the actual center of direction, control, and coordination, i.e., the “nerve center,” and not simply an office where the corporation holds its board meetings (for example, attended by directors and officers who have traveled there for the occasion).
Determining the proper "principle place of business" for a trucking company is critical because it tells an experienced truck accident lawyer where the proper place to file a truck injury lawsuit.
Read the full opinion in Hertz v. Friend, No. 08-1107 (USSC 2/23/10) here.
