PC Specialists, Inc. v. Made Technology LLC

Filing 10

ORDER Vacating Order to Show Cause. Signed by Judge Thomas J. Whelan on 9/5/2017.(jao)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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PC SPECIALISTS, INC., dba
TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION
GROUP,

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Case No.: 17-CV-1710 W (JMA)
ORDER VACATING ORDER TO
SHOW CAUSE [DOC. 6]

Plaintiff,
v.
MADE TECHNOLOGY LLC,

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Defendant.

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Plaintiff PC Specialists, Inc., dba Technology Integration Group (“TIG”), filed this

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action on August 23, 2017, invoking the jurisdiction of the Court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §

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1332. (Compl. [Doc. 1] ¶¶ 3–5.)

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(a) The district courts shall have original jurisdiction of all civil actions where the
matter in controversy exceeds the sum or value of $75,000, exclusive of interest and
costs, and is between . . . (1) citizens of different States[.]

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28 U.S.C. § 1332(a).
For the purposes of [§ 1332] . . . (1) a corporation shall be deemed to be a citizen of
every State . . . by which it has been incorporated and of the State . . . where it has
its principal place of business[.]

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28 U.S.C. § 1332(c).

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17-CV-1710 W (JMA)

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For purposes of § 1332, a limited liability company “is a citizen of every state of

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which its owners/members are citizens.” Johnson v. Columbia Properties Anchorage,

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LP, 437 F.3d 894, 899 (9th Cir. 2006).

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In the initial Complaint, TIG alleged that it is “a corporation incorporated under

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the laws of California, with its principal place of business in San Diego, California[,]”

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making it a citizen of California. (Compl. [Doc. 1] ¶ 3.) See 28 U.S.C. § 1332(c).

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However, it did not allege facts allowing the Court to infer the citizenship of Defendant

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Made Technology. (See Compl. [Doc. 1] ¶ 4.) The Complaint merely stated that “[u]pon

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information and belief, Defendant Made Technology is a limited liability company

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organized under the laws of New Jersey, and of which no member is a citizen of

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California.” (Id. [Doc. 1] ¶ 4.)

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“Absent unusual circumstances, a party seeking to invoke diversity jurisdiction

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should be able to allege affirmatively the actual citizenship of the relevant parties.”

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Kanter v. Warner-Lambert Co., 265 F.3d 853, 857 (9th Cir. 2001) (citing and quoting by

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parenthetical Whitmire v. Victus Ltd., 212 F.3d 885, 887 (5th Cir. 2000) (“[I]n a diversity

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action, the plaintiff must state all parties’ citizenships such that the existence of complete

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diversity can be confirmed.”) (in turn quoting Chemical Leaman Tank Lines, Inc. v.

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Aetna Cas. and Sur. Co., 177 F.3d 210, 222 n.13 (3d Cir. 1999))); see generally Fed. R.

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Civ. P. 8 (“A pleading that states a claim for relief must contain . . . (1) a short and plain

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statement of the grounds for the court’s jurisdiction . . . .”).

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In the initial Complaint, TIG did not affirmatively allege the actual citizenship of

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all relevant parties, and no unusual circumstances appeared from the face of the

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Complaint. See Kanter, 265 F.3d at 857; Fed. R. Civ. P. 8.

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On August 28, 2017, the Court ordered TIG to show cause why this action should

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not be dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. (OSC [Doc. 6].) TIG responded

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on September 1, asserting that “publicly available information about Made Technology’s

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members is limited, and TIG is unable to allege for certain the current state citizenship of

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Made Technology’s members.” (OSC Response [Doc. 7] 1:15–18.) It also filed a First
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17-CV-1710 W (JMA)

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Amended Complaint (“FAC”) alleging that “[u]pon information and belief, Defendant

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Made Technology is a limited liability company organized under the laws of New Jersey,

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all members of which are citizens of New Jersey.” (FAC [Doc. 8] ¶ 4.)

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In light of the foregoing, it would appear that complete diversity of citizenship

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exists between the parties. Thus, the Court’s August 28, 2017 OSC is hereby

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VACATED.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: September 5, 2017

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17-CV-1710 W (JMA)