Officer's Residence Decides Corporate Citizenship

A corporation's principal place of business for diversity jurisdiction purposes is determined by the key controlling officer's residence, not the location of the company's main office, according to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. CostCommand, LLC v. WH Administrators, Inc. In so deciding, the court adopted the nerve center test that the U.S. Supreme Court pronounced in Hertz Corp v. Friend. ABA Section of Litigation leaders point to new burdens placed upon attorneys in determining a company's principal place of business.