Those Certain Underwriters at Lloyd's, London v. Scott Miller Consulting Engineer, Inc. et al

Filing 36

ORDER: It is therefore the ORDER, JUDGMENT, and DECREE of the court that the plaintiff has until 1/29/2016, to amend the complaint to allege jurisdiction sufficiently; otherwise this lawsuit shall be dismissed without prejudice. Signed by Honorable Judge Myron H. Thompson on 1/15/2016. (dmn, )

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

THOSE CERTAIN UNDERWRITERS
AT LLOYD'S, LONDON,
SUBSCRIBING TO POLICY
PGIARK02190-02,
Plaintiff,
v.
SCOTT MILLER CONSULTING
ENGINEER, INC., et al.,
Defendants.

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CIVIL ACTION NO.
1:15cv481-MHT
(WO)

ORDER
The allegations of the amended complaint in this
case are insufficient to invoke this court's original
jurisdiction

under

citizenship).
diversity,

U.S.C.

§

1332

(diversity

of

To invoke original jurisdiction based on
the

affirmatively

28

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

plaintiff

is

different from that of each defendant.
1332;

see

also

2

James

Wm.

Moore,

See 28 U.S.C. §
et

al.,

Moore's

Federal Practice § 8.03[5][b] at 8-16 (3d ed. 2006).
The complaint is insufficient because it does not
indicate

the

citizenship

of

the

plaintiff,

Those

Certain Underwriters At Lloyd's, London, Subscribing To
Policy

PGIARK02190-02.

The

complaint

states

that

plaintiff is an unincorporated association composed of
two entities.
complaint

To establish diversity jurisdiction, the

must

indicate

the

citizenship

of

each

and

every one of an unincorporated association’s members.
Xaros v. U.S. Fidelity and Guar. Co., 820 F.2d 1176,
1181

(11th

corporation,
citizenship
where

the

business.

Cir.

1987).

then
of

both

If

the

member

complaint

the

corporation

the

State

has

its

must

of

entity

is

allege

incorporation

principal

place

a

the
and
of

28 U.S.C. § 1332(c)(2); American Motorist

Insur. Co. v. American Employers' Insur. Co., 600 F.2d
15, 16 & n. 1 (5th Cir. 1979) (per curiam).
2

If the

entity is a partnership, the complaint must indicate
the

citizenship

of

general and limited.
U.S. 185 (1990).

the

individual

partners,

both

Carden v. Arkoma Associates, 494

If the entity is a limited liability

company, the complaint must allege “[t]he citizenships
of

all

members

of

Greens

MHP,

Rolling

the

limited

L.P.

v.

liability

Comcast

company.”

SCH

Holdings

L.L.C., 374 F.3d 1020, 1022 (11th Cir. 2004). (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.)
The

plaintiff's

sufficiently

the

complaint

citizenship

also
of

fails

corporate

to

allege

defendants

Scott Miller Consulting Engineer, Inc. and Palm Beach
Grading,

Inc..

28

U.S.C.

§

1332(c)

provides

that

a

corporation shall be deemed a citizen, first, of all
States by which it has been incorporated and, second,
of

the

State

business.

where

it

has

its

principal

place

of

To invoke jurisdiction based on diversity in
3

a case in which a corporation is a party, it is thus
necessary to allege distinctly and affirmatively all
the

States

by

which

the

corporation

has

been

incorporated and the State in which the corporation has
its principal place of business.

American Motorists

Ins. Co. v. American Employers' Ins. Co., 600 F.2d 15,
16 and n.1 (5th Cir. 1979) (per curiam).
The complaint is also insufficient because it does
not indicate the citizenship of the parties that are
‘limited
LLC,

liability

Corvias

Construction/FRK,
and

Rucker

companies’:

Military
LLC,

Dannelly

Living,

Rucker-Picerne

Communities,

LLC.

Enterprises,

LLC,

Picerne

Partners,

“[L]ike

a

LLC,

limited

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

Rolling

Greens

MHP,

L.P.

v.

Comcast

SCH

Holdings L.L.C., 374 F.3d 1020, 1022 (11th Cir. 2004).
The complaint must therefore allege “the citizenships
of all the members of the limited liability company.”
4

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.)
The complaint does not allege the citizenship of
defendant Dannelly Enterprises, LLC because it does not
establish

the

citizenship

of

its

members.

The

complaint does not allege the citizenship of defendant
Corvias Military Living, LLC because it does not state
the citizenship of the John G. Picerne Business Trust2012, the sole member of Corvias Group, LLC, which is
the sole member of defendant Corvias Military Living,
LLC.

As defendant Corvias Military Living, LLC is the

sole member of defendants Picerne Construction/FRK, LLC
and

Rucker-Picerne

Partners,

LLC,

and

a

member

of

defendant Rucker Communities, LLC, the complaint does
not allege the citizenship of those defendant entities
either.

Further, the complaint does not allege the

membership of defendant Rucker Communities, LLC’s other
5

members.
***
It is therefore the ORDER, JUDGMENT, and DECREE of
the

court

2016,

to

that

the

plaintiff

has

amend

the

complaint

to

until
allege

January

29,

jurisdiction

sufficiently; otherwise this lawsuit shall be dismissed
without prejudice.
DONE, this the 15th day of January, 2016.
/s/ Myron H. Thompson____
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE