Edwards v. Pacific Cycle, Inc. et al

Filing 18

ORDER Granting Plaintiff's Motion to Amend First Amended Complaint [ECF No. 15 ]. The Court grants Plaintiff leave to amend his FAC. If Plaintiff chooses to file a second amended complaint, he must do so no later than 10/1/2018. Signed by Judge M. James Lorenz on 9/11/2018. (lrf)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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Case No.: 18-cv-1358-L (BLM)

ALAN EDWARDS,
Plaintiff,

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v.

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ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF’S
MOTION TO AMEND FIRST
AMENDED COMPLAINT [ECF No.
15]

PACIFIC CYCLES, INC., SEARS
HOLDINGS MANAGEMEN
CORPORATION, SEARS ROEBUCK
AND CO., AND DOES 1-20,

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Defendants.

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In this tort action for negligence and products liability, Defendant removed this case
alleging federal jurisdiction based on diversity of citizenship under 28 U.S.C. §1332. (ECF
No. 1 at 2-3.) Presently, Plaintiff requests leave to amend and supplement his First
Amended Complaint (“FAC”) to add Apollo Retail Specialists, LLC (“Apollo”) as DOE
1. (See ECF No. 15.) After review of Plaintiff’s motion and supporting documents, the
Court finds that Plaintiff failed to adequately allege Apollo’s citzenship.
Unlike state courts,
Federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction. They possess only that power
authorized by Constitution and statute, which is not to be expanded by judicial
decree. It is to be presumed that a cause lies outside this limited jurisdiction,
and the burden of establishing the contrary rests upon the party asserting
jurisdiction.
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18-cv-1358-L (BLM)

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Kokkonen v. Guardian Life Ins. Co. of Am., 511 U.S. 375, 377 (1994) (citations omitted).
Federal courts are constitutionally required to raise issues related to federal subject matter
jurisdiction and may do so sua sponte. Arbaugh v. Y&H Corp., 546 U.S. 500, 514 (2006).
A federal court must satisfy itself of its jurisdiction over the subject matter before
proceeding to the merits of the case. Ruhrgas AG v. Marathon Oil Co., 526 U.S. 574, 577,
583 (1999).
"A plaintiff suing in a federal court must show in his pleading, affirmatively and
distinctly, the existence of whatever is essential to federal jurisdiction, and, if he does not
do so, the court, on having the defect called to its attention or on discovering the same,
must dismiss the case, unless the defect be corrected by amendment.” Tosco Corp. v.
Communities for a Better Env’t, 236 F.3d 495, 499 (9th Cir. 2001) (internal citations and
quotation marks omitted), abrogated on other grounds by Hertz Corp. v. Friend, 559 U.S.
77, 82-83 (2010). Plaintiff relies on 28 U.S.C. §1332, which requires complete diversity
of citizenship between plaintiffs and defendants. Unlike the citizenship of a natural person,
the citizenship of a partnership or other unincorporated entity is the citizenship of its
members. See Johnson v. Columbia Props. Anchorage, LP, 437 F.3d 894, 899 (9th Cir.
2006)(“[L]ike a partnership, an LLC is a citizen of every state of which its owners/members
are citizens.”). Given the Court’s sua sponte obligation to assure itself of the existence of
subject matter jurisdiction, the Court requires Plaintiff to affirmatively allege the identities
of the members of the LLC defendants and the jurisdictional facts that support Plaintiff’s
invocation of the Court’s diversity jurisdiction. See Blue Ridge Ins. Co. v. Stanewich, 142
F.3d 1145, 1148 n.3 (9th Cir. 1998).
Despite Plaintiff’s failure to affirmatively allege the citizenship of the LLC
defendant, a district court may, and should, grant leave to amend when it appears that
subject matter jurisdiction may exist. See 28 U.S.C. §1653; Trentacosta v. Frontier Pacific
Aircraft Industries, Inc., 813 F.2d 1553, 1555 (9th Cir. 1987). Therefore, the Court
GRANTS Plaintiff leave to amend his FAC. If Plaintiff chooses to file a second amended
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complaint, he must do so no later than October 1, 2018. However, the failure to file a

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Second Amended Complaint by that date or to adequately allege the Court’s jurisdiction

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may result in the dismissal of this action without prejudice.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated: September 11, 2018

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