Kourtni Nicole Beebe v. Nutribullet, L.L.C. et al

Filing 19

(IN CHAMBERS) ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE RE: JURISDICTION by Judge Fernando M. Olguin.IT IS ORDERED that no later than 4/17/2017, Nutribullet shall file a Declaration Re: Citizenship, under penalty of perjury, setting forth the citizenship of its owners and members. Among other things, Nutribullet shall identify the citizenship of each of its partners, members, and owners. (vdr)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
CIVIL MINUTES - GENERAL
Case No.

CV 17-0828 FMO (AFMx)

Title

Kourtni Nicole Beebe v. Nutribullet, L.L.C.

Present: The Honorable

Date

April 10, 2017

Fernando M. Olguin, United States District Judge

Vanessa Figueroa

None

Deputy Clerk

Court Reporter / Recorder

Tape No.

Attorney Present for Plaintiff(s):

Attorney Present for Defendant(s):

None Present

None Present

Proceedings:

(In Chambers) Order to Show Cause Re: Jurisdiction

On February 1, 2017, plaintiff Kourtni Nicole Beebe (“plaintiff”) filed a complaint in this court
against Nutribullet, L.L.C. (“Nutribullet”), asserting various state-law claims. (See Dkt. 1,
Complaint). Subject matter jurisdiction is predicated on diversity of citizenship pursuant to 28
U.S.C. § 1332. (See id. at ¶ 5). The Complaint alleges that plaintiff is a citizen of New York, (see
Dkt. 1, Complaint at ¶ 1), and that Nutribullet is “California Limited Liability Corporation[.]” (Id. at
¶ 2).
Limited liability companies (“LLCs”) are treated like partnerships rather than corporations
and are deemed “a citizen of every state of which its owners/members are citizens.” Johnson v.
Columbia Props. Anchorage, LP, 437 F.3d 894, 899 (9th Cir. 2006); see Grupo Dataflux v. Atlas
Global Grp., L.P., 541 U.S. 567, 569, 124 S.Ct. 1920, 1923 (2004) (“[A] partnership . . . is a citizen
of each State or foreign country of which any of its partners is a citizen.”). “There is no such thing
as ‘a [state name] limited partnership’ for purposes of diversity jurisdiction. There are only
partners, each of which has one or more citizenships.” Hart v. Terminex Int’l, 336 F.3d 541, 544
(7th Cir. 2003) (internal quotation marks omitted). Moreover, “[a]n LLC’s principal place of
business [or] state of organization is irrelevant” for purposes of diversity jurisdiction. See
Buschman v. Anesthesia Business Consultants LLC, 42 F.Supp.3d 1244, 1248 (N.D. Cal. 2014);
Tele Munchen Fernseh GMBH & Co Produktionsgesellschaft v. Alliance Atlantis Int’l Distribution,
LLC, 2013 WL 6055328, *4 (C.D. Cal. 2013) (“As a limited liability company, [defendant]’s principal
place of business is irrelevant for purposes of diversity jurisdiction.”). If a member of an LLC is
a corporation, then the state of incorporation and its principal place of business must be shown.

Because it appears that plaintiff has not adequately set forth Nutribullet’s citizenship, the
court cannot determine whether it has subject matter jurisdiction. However, because Nutribullet
has already appeared in this action, (see, e.g., Dkt. 13, Stipulation to Extend Time to Respond to
Initial Complaint), and it is in a better position to demonstrate its own citizenship, IT IS ORDERED
that no later than April 17, 2017, Nutribullet shall file a Declaration Re: Citizenship, under penalty
of perjury, setting forth the citizenship of its owners and members. Among other things, Nutribullet
CV-90 (06/04)

CIVIL MINUTES - GENERAL

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
CIVIL MINUTES - GENERAL
Case No.

CV 17-0828 FMO (AFMx)

Date

Title

Kourtni Nicole Beebe v. Nutribullet, L.L.C.

April 10, 2017

shall identify the citizenship of each of its partners, members, and owners.

00
Initials of Preparer

CV-90 (06/04)

CIVIL MINUTES - GENERAL

:

00

vdr

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