Zurich American Insurance Co. v. Dillon Companies, LLC

Filing 17

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE. On or before Tuesday, September 22, 2020, Defendant shall SHOW CAUSE why this case should not be remanded from where it was removed due to this court's lack of subject matter jurisdiction. By Judge Raymond P. Moore on September 15, 2020. (rvill, )

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO
Judge Raymond P. Moore
Civil Action No. 20-cv-02183-RM
ZURICH AMERICAN INSURANCE CO., as
subrogee of H. PLAZA, LLC
Plaintiff,
v.
DILLON COMPANIES, LLC, dba
KING SOOPERS,
Defendant.
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ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE
______________________________________________________________________________
This matter is before the Court sua sponte upon finding an issue is raised as to this
court’s subject matter jurisdiction. Defendant removed this action from the El Paso Combined
Courts based on diversity jurisdiction, 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a). Diversity jurisdiction requires
complete diversity of citizenship between the parties. Here, to show removal is proper,
Defendant alleges that:
(1) “Plaintiff indicates that it is a New York corporation with its principal place of
business in Illinois…. For diversity purposes, Plaintiff is therefore a citizen of the
State of Illinois.” (ECF No. 1, p. 2.)
(2) “Defendant is a limited liability corporation and its principal place of business is
located in Kansas.” “‘The federal diversity jurisdiction statute provides that “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 . . . .’” “As Defendant is incorporated by the State of Kansas and
has its principal place of business there, it is deemed to be a citizen of Kansas.” (ECF
No. 1, p. 2.)
None of these allegations are sufficient to show diversity jurisdiction exists.

First, if Plaintiff (a corporation) is incorporated in New York and has its principal place
of business in Illinois, it is a citizen of New York and Illinois. 28 U.S.C. § 1332(c)(1). Second,
Defendant is an LLC, and “an LLC, as an unincorporated association, takes the citizenship of all
its members.” Siloam Springs Hotel, L.L.C. v. Century Sur. Co., 781 F.3d 1233, 1234 (10th Cir.
2015) (citations omitted). Accordingly, Defendant’s allegations are insufficient to show diversity
jurisdiction exists because the identity and citizenship of Defendant’s members have not been
shown. Defendant’s corporate disclosure does state “Dillon Companies, LLC., a Kansas
corporation, is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Kroger Company, a publicly held corporation.
The principal place of business of Dillon Companies, LLC, is Hutchinson, Kansas.” (ECF No.
2.) Assuming this means The Kroger Company is the only member of Dillon Companies, LLC,
this too is insufficient as The Kroger Company’s state of incorporation and principal place of
business are not disclosed. Accordingly it is
ORDERED that on or before Tuesday, September 22, 2020, Defendant shall SHOW
CAUSE why this case should not be remanded from where it was removed due to this court’s
lack of subject matter jurisdiction.
DATED this 15th day of September, 2020.
BY THE COURT:

____________________________________
RAYMOND P. MOORE
United States District Judge

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