Owen Equipment & Erection Co. v. Kroger
United States Supreme Court
437 U.S. 365 (1978)
Iowa citizen Kroger (plaintiff) sued Nebraska-based Omaha Public Power District (OPPD) in federal court based on diversity jurisdiction after her husband's death in an industrial accident; OPPD impleaded Owen Equipment & Erection Co. (defendant) as a third-party defendant, and the court let Kroger amend her complaint to add Owen as a co-defendant based on Owen's admitted (but as it turned out, incorrect) status as a Nebraska corporation. After the court granted OPPD summary judgment, leaving only Kroger and Owen, it emerged at trial that Owen's principal place of business was actually Iowa, destroying complete diversity between Kroger and Owen; Owen moved to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction, but the district court denied the motion after the jury found for Kroger, and an intermediate appellate court affirmed.
Whether a federal court exercising diversity jurisdiction over a plaintiff's original claim may also exercise jurisdiction over the same plaintiff's separate claim against a third-party defendant when no independent basis for federal jurisdiction exists over that claim.