SCOTUS: A REIT is a Citizen in Every State in Which a Shareholder is a Citizen

In REIT Citizenship and the Impact of Americold Realty Trust on Jurisdictional Challenges, we discuss the Supreme Court’s unanimously ruling in Americold Realty Trust v. ConAgra Foods, Inc. that unincorporated entities organized as “real estate investment trusts” (REITs) under Maryland law are citizens of every state in which at least one of their shareholders is a citizen. We predict that Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s holding, which appears broad enough to apply to any manner of statutory trusts or similar entities organized under various states’ laws, likely will steer more litigation where REITs and other unincorporated entities are parties into state courts—not federal courts.