Olga Baker #2, LLC v. Ace Insurance Company of the Midwest

Filing 6

ORDERED: Defendant Ace Insurance Company of the Midwest must SUPPLEMENT the Notice of Removal on or before October 28, 2020, to show cause why this case should not be remanded for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Failure to comply with this Order will cause this case being remanded without further notice. Signed by Judge Sheri Polster Chappell on 10/14/2020. (AEH)

Case 2:20-cv-00792-SPC-MRM Document 6 Filed 10/14/20 Page 1 of 3 PageID 478

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
FORT MYERS DIVISION
OLGA BAKER #2, LLC,
Plaintiff,
v.

Case No.: 2:20-cv-792-FtM-38MRM

ACE INSURANCE COMPANY OF
THE MIDWEST,
Defendant.
/
ORDER1
Before the Court is Defendant Ace Insurance Company of the Midwest’s
Notice of Removal. (Doc. 1). This lawsuit arises from an alleged breach of the
insurance policy providing coverage to Plaintiff Olga Baker #2, LLC’s property
(“the LLC”) issued by Ace Insurance. The LLC claims a breach because Ace
Insurance failed to fully compensate the LLC for damage to the property caused by
Hurricane Irma. The LLC first sued Ace Insurance in state court. Ace Insurance
removed the case to this Court based on diversity jurisdiction.
Removal permits a defendant to move a case from a state court to a federal
district court when the federal court has original subject matter jurisdiction over
the suit. 28 U.S.C. § 1441(a). A removing defendant bears the burden of proving

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proper federal jurisdiction. Leonard v. Enter. Rent a Car, 279 F.3d 967, 972 (11th
Cir. 2002). “Because removal jurisdiction raises significant federalism concerns,
federal courts are directed to construe removal statutes strictly” and resolve “all
doubts about jurisdiction…in favor of remand to state court.” Univ. of S. Ala. V.
Am. Tobacco Co., 168 F.3d 405, 411 (11th Cir. 1999)(citations omitted). Diversity
jurisdiction is one type of original jurisdiction. A federal court has diversity
jurisdiction if the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000 and the parties are
citizens of different states. Morrison v. Allstate Indem. Co., 228 F.3d 1255, 1261
(11th Cir. 2000).
Here, Ace Insurance has not shown diversity of citizenship between the
parties. It says “Plaintiff is an Illinois based limited liability company.” (Doc. 1 at
2). For purposes of diversity jurisdiction, a limited liability company is not,
without more, a citizen of the state that created the entity or the state where it has
its principal place of business; such legal entities are citizens of every state in
which each of their members are citizens. Rolling Greens MHP, L.P. v.
Comcast SCH Holdings L.L.C., 374 F.3d 1020, 1022 (11th Cir. 2004)(emphasis
added)(citations omitted)(for purposes of diversity jurisdiction, a limited liability
company is a citizen of any state in which each of their members are citizens); see
also Mutual Assignment and Indem. Co. v. Lind-Waldock & Co., LLC, 364 F.3d
858, 861 (7th Cir. 2004)(“Lind-Waldock is a limited liability company, which
means that it is a citizen of every state of which any member is a citizen; this may
need to be traced through multiple levels if any of its members is itself a

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partnership or LLC.”). Because there are no allegations to support the state
citizenship of each member of the LLC, Ace Insurance has not adequately pleaded
diversity of citizenship.
Accordingly, it is now
ORDERED:
Defendant Ace Insurance Company of the Midwest must SUPPLEMENT
the Notice of Removal on or before October 28, 2020, to show cause why this
case should not be remanded for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Failure to
comply with this Order will cause this case being remanded without
further notice.
DONE and ORDERED in Fort Myers, Florida on October 14, 2020.

Copies: All Parties of Record

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