Carey v. U. S. Industries, Inc.

MEMORANDUM DECISION

MARSHALL, District Judge.

The defendants’ motion to dismiss this action for lack of subject matter jurisdic tion presents a single issue: whether the citizenship of a business trust for the purposes of diversity is determined by the citizenship of its trustees or its individual shareholders. The plaintiffs, the trustees of First Pennsylvania Mortgage Trust, urge us to adopt the reasoning of Mason v. American Express Company, 334 F.2d 392 (2d Cir.1964), in which the court analogized a joint stock company to a corporation and determined diversity under 28 U.S.C. § 1332(c). But…