Long v. Forty Niners Football Company LLC et al

Filing 24

ORDER to Show Cause (emclc2, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 10/16/2013)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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DANIEL LONG,

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For the Northern District of California

United States District Court

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No. C-13-2919 EMC

Plaintiff,
v.

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE

FORTY NINERS FOOTBALL
COMPANY LLC, et al.,

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Defendants.
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Before the Court is Defendants Forty Niners Football Company LLC’s and John York’s

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motion to dismiss the first cause of action of Plaintiff Daniel Long’s first amended complaint for

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breach of contract and Plaintiff’s request for punitive damages. (Dkt. No. 16).

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This Court has an obligation to assure itself that it has subject matter jurisdiction over this

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action. See Csibi v. Fustos, 670 F.2d 134, 136 n.3 (9th Cir. 1982) (noting that lack of subject matter

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jurisdiction can be raised sua sponte by a court at any time as it is “the duty of the federal courts to

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assure themselves that their jurisdiction is not being exceeded”). Plaintiff alleges in his first

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amended complaint that jurisdiction is proper under 28 U.S.C. § 1332. (Dkt. No. 5, at 1). In order

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for diversity jurisdiction to exist, there must be complete diversity between the parties. See 28

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U.S.C. § 1332(a)(1); In re Digimarc Corp. Derivative Litig., 549 F.3d 1223, 1234 (9th Cir. 2008).

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Here, Plaintiff has alleged that he is a resident of California and “the Forty Niners Football

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Company, LLC is a Delaware limited liability company and John York is a resident of the state of

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Ohio.” (Dkt. No. 5, at 1).

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Plaintiff has failed to adequately allege facts demonstrating that this Court has jurisdiction.

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For purposes of determining diversity jurisdiction, a limited liability company is deemed to have the

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citizenship of each of its members. See Johnson v. Columbia Properties Anchorage, LP, 437 F.3d

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894, 899 (9th Cir. 2006) (“We therefore join our sister circuits and hold that, like a partnership, an

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LLC is a citizen of every state of which its owners/members are citizens.”). Because Plaintiff’s first

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amended complaint contains no allegations regarding the citizenship of each of Defendant Forty

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Niners Football Company LLC’s members, this Court is unable to determine if there is complete

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diversity between the parties and thus, whether it has subject matter jurisdiction over this dispute.

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See, e.g., Wagner v. Spire Vision LLC, No. 13-00054 YGR, 2013 WL 941383, at *1 (N.D. Cal. Mar.
8, 2013) (remanding action to state court because “Defendants have failed to allege adequately the

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For the Northern District of California

United States District Court

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citizenship of all the parties to this action. Limited liability companies, or LLCs, are like

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partnerships in that they are a citizen of every state where its owners and members are citizens.”);

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Nguyen v. BrooksAmerica, No. CV 09-7054-JFW, 2009 WL 3162435, at *1 (C.D. Cal. Sept. 29,

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2009) (dismissing for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, in part, because “Plaintiffs have failed to

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specifically allege . . . the citizenship of each member of the LLC defendant.”).

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Accordingly, the parties are ORDERED TO SHOW CAUSE why this action should not be

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dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Specifically, by 5:00 p.m., October 18, 2013,

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Defendant Forty Niners Football Company LLC shall file a statement in which it lists each of its

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members and the States of which they are citizens.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated: October 16, 2013

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_________________________
EDWARD M. CHEN
United States District Judge

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