BENTON - U.S. District Judge Staci Yandle decided to exercise jurisdiction over a claim that developers of a project in downtown Highland failed to honor a construction contract.
She denied a motion of plaintiff American Craftsman Contracting to remand the case to St. Clair County circuit court on April 24.
American Craftsman counsel Sean Cronin of Belleville sued Warson Development, project manager David Schlafly, and Schlafly Illinois in St. Clair County last October.
He claimed the parties orally agreed in 2022 to convert 1014 Laurel Street in Highland to commercial space on the first floor and an apartment above.
He claimed defendants stopped responding to invoices and plaintiffs stopped working.
He alleged breach of contract, unjust enrichment, account stated, and equitable lien.
Warson Development and David Schlafly removed the complaint to district court in November.
Their counsel Thomas Ysursa of Belleville asserted diversity jurisdiction as Missouri citizens.
American Craftsman hadn’t served the complaint on Schlafly Illinois and Schlafly Illinois didn’t join in the removal, but Ysursa asserted diversity jurisdiction for it.
He claimed its sole member was Saint Louis Brewery, a company with members in Missouri and Maryland.
American Craftsman moved to remand the complaint to St. Clair County in December, asserting Illinois citizenship for Schlafly Illinois.
Cronin argued that membership of Schlafly Illinois was not public information and defendants didn’t support their statement of membership with an affidavit or declaration.
In January defendants moved to dismiss the complaint.
Yandle resolved both motions at once.
First she denied the remand motion, finding courts generally regard clear assertions of diverse citizenship as sufficient at this juncture.
“Absent evidence of bad faith or misrepresentation by defendants the court declines plaintiff’s invitation to speculate regarding Schlafly Illinois’s citizenship," she wrote.
Next she denied the motion to dismiss counts for breach of contract and account stated.
She defined account stated as determination of the amount of a debt when parties who previously conducted transactions agree that an account represents their transactions.
“When a party fails to object to an account invoice within a reasonable time an account stated is established," she wrote.
She dismissed unjust enrichment and equitable lien.
She has set trial in May 2026.