Ingram v. Janssen Research & Development LLC et al (JOINT ASSIGN)
Filing
49
OPINION AND ORDER that it is the ORDER, JUDGMENT, and DECREE of the court that the plf has until 1/9/2015, to amend the complaint further to allege jurisdiction sufficiently, as further set out in order. Signed by Honorable Judge Myron H. Thompson on 12/29/14. (djy, )
IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE UNITED STATES FOR THE
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF ALABAMA, NORTHERN DIVISION
MARY ANN INGRAM, as
Executrix of the Estate of
Ada Erle Church and
Personal Representative of
Ada Erle Church, deceased,
Plaintiff,
v.
JANSSEN RESEARCH &
DEVELOPMENT, LLC f/k/a
Johnson and Johnson
Pharmaceutical Research
and Development, LLC, et
al.,
Defendants.
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
CIVIL ACTION NO.
2:14cv1125-MHT
(WO)
OPINION AND ORDER
The allegations of the amended complaint in this
case are insufficient to invoke this court's original
jurisdiction
citizenship).
diversity,
under
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);
see
also
Bonner
v.
Prichard,
661
F.2d
1206,
1209
(11th
Cir.
1981)
(en
banc) (the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals adopted as
binding precedent all of the decisions of the former
Fifth
Circuit
handed
down
prior
business on September 30, 1981).
show
that
the
citizenship
to
the
close
of
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
plaintiff's
standard in two ways.
complaint
fails
to
meet
this
First, the complaint does not
allege the citizenship of the
plaintiff, who brings
suit in her capacity as the executrix of the estate, as
well as personal representative, of a decedent.
"[T]he
legal representative of the estate of a decedent shall
be deemed to be a citizen only of the same State as the
decedent...."
order
to
28 U.S.C. § 1332(c)(2).
allege
properly
the
Therefore, in
citizenship
of
the
plaintiff, the complaint must allege the citizenship of
the decedent whose estate the plaintiff represents.
2
Second, the complaint is insufficient because it
does not indicate the citizenship of a party that it
identifies as a ‘limited liability company’: Janssen
Research
&
Development,
LLC.
“[L]ike
a
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.”
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 that the plaintiff has until January 9, 2015,
to amend the complaint further to allege jurisdiction
3
sufficiently; otherwise this lawsuit shall be dismissed
without prejudice.
DONE, this the 29th day of December, 2014.
/s/ Myron H. Thompson
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings provides public litigation records from the federal appellate and district courts. These filings and docket sheets should not be considered findings of fact or liability, nor do they necessarily reflect the view of Justia.
Why Is My Information Online?