Suntree Snack Foods LLC v. Dees Nuts LLC et al

Filing 15

ORDER that no later than December 4, 2024, plaintiff shall show cause why this case should not be dismissed for lack of diversity jurisdiction. Failure to establish complete diversity will result in the dismissal of this case without prejudice. See attached Order for complete details. Signed by Judge Krissa M Lanham on 11/26/2024. (NSH)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

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Suntree Snack Foods LLC, et al.,
Plaintiffs,

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v.

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Dees Nuts LLC, et al.,

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No. CV-24-02845-PHX-KML
ORDER

Defendants.

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Plaintiff Redlands Holdings LLC filed a statement that seems to establish Redlands

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should be considered a citizen of Delaware and New York. (Doc. 14.) That statement

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identified defendant Dees Nuts as a Florida limited liability company but says “Florida

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does not disclose the identity of members or managers” of LLCs. (Doc. 14.) Redlands

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believes that is good enough to remain in federal court. It is not.

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“[A] federal court may exercise diversity jurisdiction only if there is no plaintiff and

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no defendant who are citizens of the same State.” Weeping Hollow Ave. Tr. v. Spencer, 831

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F.3d 1110, 1112 (9th Cir. 2016) (quotation marks and citation omitted). As the court

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explained multiple times, citizenship of a limited liability company is determined by

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identifying the citizenships of its “owners/members.” Johnson v. Columbia Properties

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Anchorage, LP, 437 F.3d 894, 899 (9th Cir. 2006). Thus, the court must be provided

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information regarding the citizenship of all relevant “owners/members” to ensure it has

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jurisdiction.

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Redlands chose to file this suit in federal court, meaning it “bears the burden of

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both pleading and proving diversity jurisdiction.” NewGen, LLC v. Safe Cig, LLC, 840 F.3d

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606, 613–14 (9th Cir. 2016). The operative complaint does not contain allegations

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regarding Dees Nuts’s citizenship. In fact, that complaint identifies Dees Nuts as “a

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corporation.” (Doc. 12 at 1.) The latest supplement observes Florida does not disclose the

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members of LLCs. (Doc. 14.) At this point, Redlands has not carried its burden of pleading

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jurisdiction.

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Redlands is required to establish why this case should not be dismissed for lack of

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jurisdiction. If Redlands wants this suit to remain in federal court, it must provide some

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good faith basis for its belief that complete diversity exists.

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Accordingly,

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IT IS ORDERED no later than December 4, 2024, plaintiff shall show cause why

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this case should not be dismissed for lack of diversity jurisdiction. Failure to establish

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complete diversity will result in the dismissal of this case without prejudice.

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Dated this 26th day of November, 2024.

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