Supreme Court Gives Direction on Corporate Citizenship
A recent decision by the United States Supreme Court has resolved a long-standing ambiguity in the statutory requirements for determining the citizenship of a corporation for the purposes of invoking the diversity jurisdiction of the federal courts.
In Hertz Corp. v. Friend 30 S. Ct. 1181, 175 L. Ed. 2d 1029 (2010), the Supreme Court identified two principal approaches to determining corporate citizenship for diversity purposes: the locations of a corporation’s “business activities” versus a corporation’s “nerve center,” which might or might not overlap with the corporation’s nominal headquarters. See id. at 1190-91. But, despite the Court’s efforts, the shifting nature of the modern business place might reduce Hertz to a mere way-station on a longer journey.
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