## Facts

- James B. Tank, a Wisconsin citizen, filed a Kansas wrongful death action alleging negligent medical care contributed to his mother Kathleen Tank’s death.
- Kathleen Tank was a Kansas citizen at her death; her husband and adult daughter were also Kansas citizens when suit was filed.
- Defendants Dr. Bert Chronister and the Wilson County Hospital Board of Trustees were Kansas citizens.
- Tank sued in federal court invoking diversity jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332.
- Defendants moved to dismiss for lack of complete diversity, arguing Tank should be deemed a Kansas citizen under 28 U.S.C. § 1332(c)(2) as a “legal representative of the estate of a decedent.”
- The district court initially dismissed, but on reconsideration held § 1332(c)(2) did not apply because Kansas wrongful death plaintiffs sue in their individual capacities under Kan. Stat. Ann. § 60-1902.
- The district court certified the jurisdictional question for interlocutory appeal, and the Tenth Circuit accepted review.

## Issues

1. Whether an heir who brings a Kansas wrongful death action under Kan. Stat. Ann. § 60-1902 is a “legal representative of the estate of a decedent” under 28 U.S.C. § 1332(c)(2).
2. If § 1332(c)(2) applies, whether the plaintiff is deemed a citizen of the decedent’s state, defeating diversity when defendants share that citizenship.

## Decision

- The Tenth Circuit affirmed the district court’s order denying dismissal.
- Section 1332(c)(2) did not apply because a Kansas wrongful death claim under § 60-1902 is brought by an heir in an individual capacity for the heir’s loss, not on behalf of the estate.
- Tank’s citizenship for diversity purposes was Wisconsin (his domicile), not Kansas (the decedent’s domicile).
- Complete diversity existed between the Wisconsin plaintiff and Kansas defendants, supporting federal jurisdiction.

## Legal Principles

- Statutory interpretation of 28 U.S.C. § 1332(c)(2) is reviewed de novo.
- The phrase “legal representative of the estate of a decedent” in § 1332(c)(2) generally refers to fiduciaries who represent the estate (e.g., executors or administrators), not heirs asserting their own statutory cause of action.
- When a state wrongful death statute grants a personal cause of action to heirs (rather than an estate-based claim), the plaintiff is not treated as the estate’s “legal representative” for § 1332(c)(2).
- Diversity citizenship in such wrongful death suits is determined by the plaintiff-heir’s own domicile, unless the governing statute makes the plaintiff a true representative of the estate.

## Conclusion

The Tenth Circuit held that heirs suing under Kansas’s wrongful death statute are not “legal representative[s] of the estate” under 28 U.S.C. § 1332(c)(2), so their own citizenship controls for diversity jurisdiction and Tank’s Wisconsin citizenship preserved complete diversity against Kansas defendants.


Tank v. Chronister, 160 F.3d 597 (10th Cir. 1998)