Essex Insurance Company v. SEGA Ventures, LLC et al

Filing 9

ORDERED that Defendants' are directed to file an amended complaint within fourteen days from the date of this Order. Signed by Judge William T. Moore, Jr on 12/11/2013. (loh)

17 1 1 .LU
U.S. DSTiC1 COURT
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR
THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORG63 DEC I I Piti 2:68
SAVANNAH DIVISION

OLE

ESSEX INSURANCE COMPANY,

Plaintiff,
CASE NO. CV413-253

V.

SEGA VENTURES, LLC;
REVOLUTIONS NIGHT CLUB, INC.;
MAMEDD, LLC; DERRICK WOODS,
and JEROME BROWN;
Defendants.
ORDER
Plaintiff Essex Insurance Company has filed a
complaint in this Court that seeks a declaratory judgment
regarding insurance coverage under a policy it issued to
Defendant SEGA Ventures, LLC ("SEGA"). (Doc. 1 ¶ 1.) In
the complaint, Plaintiff attempts to invoke this Court
diversity jurisdiction. (Id. ¶ 13.) However, the
jurisdictional allegations contained in the complaint are
insufficient to establish complete diversity between the
parties.
The party invoking this Court's diversity jurisdiction
bears the burden of adequately pleading complete diversity
between the parties. See 28 U.S.C. § 1332; Ray v. Bird &
Son & Asset Realization Co., 519 F.2d 1081, 1082 (5th Cir.

1975)1 ("The burden of pleading diversity of citizenship is
upon the party invoking federal jurisdiction, and if
jurisdiction is properly challenged, that party also bears
the burden of proof."). For the purposes of diversity
jurisdiction, a limited liability company ("LLC") is a
citizen of every state in which any of its members are
citizens. Rolling Greens MHP, L. P.

V.

Comcast SCH Holdings

L.L.C., 374 F.3d 1020, 1021-22 (11th Cir. 2004). The
Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has been explicit in
addressing the proper method to allege sufficiently the
citizenship of an LLC: "a party must list the citizenships
of all the members of the limited liability company." Id.
at 1022.
In this case, the complaint does not include a list of
the individual members, along with their citizenship, of
Defendants SEGA and Mamedd, L1LC ("Mamedd"). Rather, the
complaint simply states that both Defendants SEGA and
Mamedd are Georgia corporations with their principal places
of business in Georgia. (Doc. 1

¶j 8, 10.) The complaint

relies on these allegations to advance the general

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In Bonner v. City of Prichard, 661 F.2d 1206, 1209 (11th
Cir. 1981) (en banc), the Eleventh Circuit adopted as
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conclusion that complete diversity exists between the
parties because "Plaintiff and Defendants are citizens of
different states." (Id. ¶ 13.) Such general allegations,
however, are insufficient for Plaintiff to carry its burden
of establishing complete diversity between the parties.
See Ray, 519 F.2d at 1082.
Accordingly, Defendants are DIRECTED to file an
amended complaint within fourteen days from the date of
this order. The amended complaint should properly include
the citizenship of each party to this case, specifically
the names and citizenships of each member of every limited
liability company that is a party to this case.
SO ORDERED this //day of December 2013.

WILLIAM T. MOORE, JFfJ
UNITED STATES DISTRYCT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA

binding precedent all decisions of the former Fifth Circuit
handed down prior to October 1, 1981.
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