7800 W Jewell LLC v. Truck Insurance Exchange

Filing 8

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE by Judge Philip A. Brimmer on 04/20/2018. ORDERED that plaintiff's response to the April 16, 2018 order to show cause shall also address the citizenship of defendant Truck Insurance Exchange. (sphil, )

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO
Judge Philip A. Brimmer
Civil Action No. 18-cv-00773-PAB
7800 W JEWELL LLC,
Plaintiff,
v.
TRUCK INSURANCE EXCHANGE,
Defendant.

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE

The Court takes up this matter sua sponte on the complaint [Docket No. 1] filed
by plaintiff 7800 W Jewell LLC. Plaintiff claims that the Court has subject matter
jurisdiction over this lawsuit pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332. Docket No. 1 at 2, ¶ 5. On
April 16, 2018, the Court ordered plaintiff to show cause why this case should not be
dismissed based on plaintiff’s failure to plead the citizenship of its members. Docket
No. 5 at 3. The Court has determined that the complaint is also deficient with respect to
defendant Truck Insurance Exchange’s citizenship.
Plaintiff alleges that defendant is a “mutual insurance company organized and
existing under the laws of the state of California with its principal place of business in
the state of California.” Docket No. 1 at 1, ¶ 4. W hile, for diversity purposes, “a
corporation shall be deemed to be a citizen of every State and foreign state by which it
has been incorporated and of the State or foreign state where it has its principal place
of business,” 28 U.S.C. § 1332(c)(1); see Carden v. Arkoma Assocs., 494 U.S. 185,

196 (1990),1 these considerations are irrelevant to the determination of the citizenship
of an unincorporated association. See Siloam Springs Hotel, L.L.C. v. Century Sur.
Co., 781 F.3d 1233, 1237-38 (10th Cir. 2015) (“[I]n determ ining the citizenship of an
unincorporated association for purposes of diversity, federal courts must include all the
entities’ members.”). Federal courts considering defendant’s form of organization for
diversity jurisdiction purposes have “specifically found it to be an unincorporated
association.” Truck Ins. Exch. v. The Manitowoc Co., 2010 WL 4961618, at *2 (D. Ariz.
Dec. 1, 2010) (collecting cases). Plaintiff does not allege the membership of defendant
or the citizenship of those members. See Docket No. 1 at 1-2. Accordingly, the
complaint does not provide sufficient factual allegations for the Court to determine
defendant’s citizenship and whether the Court has subject matter jurisdiction.
For the foregoing reasons, it is ORDERED that plaintiff’s response to the April
16, 2018 order to show cause shall also address the citizenship of defendant Truck
Insurance Exchange.

DATED April 20, 2018.
BY THE COURT:

s/Philip A. Brimmer
PHILIP A. BRIMMER
United States District Judge

1

A corporation’s “principal place of business” is “the place where a corporation’s
officers direct, control, and coordinate the corporation’s activities.” Hertz Corp. v.
Friend, 559 U.S. 77, 92-93 (2010).
2