Kantor V. Galleries

This appeal poses the question whether a "stateless alien" who is domiciled in one of the several states can sue or be sued in federal court pursuant to diversity of citizenship jurisdiction as enacted in 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a)(1). Appellant filed a state law tort action in federal court alleging diversity of citizenship. Appellant is domiciled in New York but he is neither a citizen of the United States nor of any other country. The district court dismissed the complaint, concluding that because appellant is not a citizen of the United States he cannot be a "citizen of a State" as that phrase is used in 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a)(1), and thus that subject matter jurisdiction does not exist. We affirm.