SCOTUS Grants Cert in Case that Will Determine Corporation's Principal Place of Business for Diversity Purposes

On June 8, 2009, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in Hertz Corp. v. Friend, No. 08-1120. Here is the summary of the issues presented by BNA's U.S. Law Week's Supreme Court Today:

Ruling Below: (9th Cir., 297 Fed. Appx. 690)

Summary of Ruling Below: Defendant corporation's relevant business activities are significantly larger in California than in its next largest state, and thus, because California is litigant's principal place of business under "place of operations" test, nerve center test will not be applied to determine corporation's state citizenship for purposes of diversity jurisdiction; district court's order remanding to state court class action filed by, and exclusively on behalf of, California residents is affirmed.

Question(s) Presented: For purposes of determining principal place of business for diversity jurisdiction citizenship under 28 U.S.C. § 1332, can court disregard location of nationwide corporation's headquarters--i.e., its nerve center?