Kuntz

This is an appeal from a judgment entered upon a jury verdict in a personal injury action. Plaintiff James J. Kuntz was severely injured when a metal rod he was removing from a billboard came in contact with an electric transmission line operated by defendant Kootenai Electric Cooperative, Inc. A year before the accident, the Cooperative had moved the transmission line to within eight feet of the billboard. Kuntz -sued in district court, asserting jurisdiction based on. diversity of citizenship. See 28 U.S.C. 1332(a),(c)(1). The jury awarded substantial damages against the Cooperative and the company that had engaged Kuntz to work on the billboard, Lamar Corporation (“Lamar”).

The Cooperative appeals, contending that the district court lacked jurisdiction over the action because the Cooperative, although incorporated, should be treated as a partnership or unincorporated association for purposes of diversity of citizenship. Because some of its members are citizens of Washington, as is Kuntz, the Cooperative claims that complete diversity of citizenship is lacking. Alternatively, the Cooperative contends that it enjoys sovereign immunity as a federal instrumentality. Finally, it…