Smith v. Golden Peanut Company, LLC

Filing 14

ORDER directing that the plaintiff has until February 6, 2015, to amend the complaint to allege jurisdiction sufficiently; otherwise this lawsuit shall be dismissed without prejudice. Signed by Honorable Judge Myron H. Thompson on 1/26/15. (scn, )

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE UNITED STATES FOR THE
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF ALABAMA, SOUTHERN DIVISION

JAMES EDWARD SMITH,

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Plaintiff,
v.
GOLDEN PEANUT COMPANY,
LLC, a limited liability
company,
Defendant.

CIVIL ACTION NO.
1:14cv999-MHT
(WO)

ORDER
The allegations of the complaint in this case are
insufficient

to

jurisdiction

under

citizenship).
diversity,

28

this

U.S.C.

court's

§

1332

original

(diversity

of

To invoke original jurisdiction based on
the

affirmatively

invoke

complaint

allege

each

must

party's

distinctly

and

citizenship.

See

McGovern v. American Airlines, Inc., 511 F. 2d 653, 654
(5th Cir. 1975) (per curiam).
show

that

the

citizenship

The allegations must
of

each

different from that of each defendant.

plaintiff

is

See 28 U.S.C.

§ 1332; see also 2 James Wm. Moore, et al., Moore's
Federal Practice § 8.03[5][b] at 8-16 (3d ed. 2006).
The complaint here is insufficient because it fails

to allege properly the citizenship of a party that is a
‘limited
LLC.

liability
“[L]ike

company’:

a

limited

Golden

Peanut

partnership,

a

Company,
limited

liability company is a citizen of any state of which a
member of the company is a citizen.”
MHP,

L.P.

1020,

v.

1022

Comcast

(11th

SCH

Cir.

Holdings

2004).

Rolling Greens

L.L.C.,

The

374

F.3d

complaint

must

therefore allege “the citizenships of all the members
of the limited liability company.”

Id.

(And if the

entity consists of several entities, the complaint must
reflect the citizenship, or citizenships, of each and
every entity based on the nature of that entity.)
***
It is therefore the ORDER, JUDGMENT, and DECREE of
the

court

2015,

to

that

the

plaintiff

has

amend

the

complaint

to

until
allege

February

6,

jurisdiction

sufficiently; otherwise this lawsuit shall be dismissed
without prejudice.
DONE, this the 26th day of January, 2015.
/s/ Myron H. Thompson___
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE