Andrews v. Merrill Corporation/Merrill Communications LLC

Filing 12

ORDER RE: JURISDICTION. Signed by Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley on 2/11/2014. (ahm, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 2/11/2014)

1
2
3
4

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

5

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

6
7

DAVID ANDREWS,

Case No. 13-cv-05884-JSC

Plaintiff,
8
v.

ORDER RE: JURISDICTION

9
MERRILL CORPORATION/MERRILL
COMMUNICATIONS LLC,

11
United States District Court
Northern District of California

10

Defendant.

12
13

Defendant Merrill Communications LLC removed this employment discrimination action

14

from state court on the basis of diversity jurisdiction. The Court has an independent obligation to

15

satisfy itself that it has federal subject matter jurisdiction. Valdez v. Allstate Ins. Co., 372 F.3d

16

1115, 1116 (9th Cir. 2004). Jurisdiction founded on diversity “requires that the parties be in

17

complete diversity and the amount in controversy exceed $75,000.” Matheson v. Progressive

18

Specialty Ins. Co., 319 F.3d 1089, 1090 (9th Cir. 2003). Complete diversity means that “each of

19

the plaintiffs must be a citizen of a different state than each of the defendants.” Allstate Ins. Co. v.

20

Hughes, 358 F.3d 1089, 1095 (9th Cir. 2004). Further, the party asserting diversity jurisdiction

21

bears the burden of proof. Resnik v. La Paz Guest Ranch, 289 F.2d 814, 819 (9th Cir. 1961).

22

Generally, LLCs are “citizen[s] of every state in which [their] owners/members are citizens.”

23

Johnson v. Columbia Props. Anchorage, LP, 437 F.3d 894, 899 (9th Cir. 2006). Thus, citizenship

24

here is dependent on the citizenship of Merrill Communications’ owners/members. Neither the

25

Complaint nor the Notice of Removal, however, includes any information as to the citizenship of

26

the LLC’s owners or members.

27
28

Defendant is accordingly ordered to provide to the Court the name and citizenship for each
of its owners/members by no later than February 28, 2014.

1
2
3
4

IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: February 11, 2014
______________________________________
JACQUELINE SCOTT CORLEY
United States Magistrate Judge

5
6
7
8
9
10

United States District Court
Northern District of California

11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
2