Rice v. Pilot Travel Centers, LLC et al

Filing 33

ORDER REMANDING CASE TO STATE COURT: For the reasons delineated in the attached Order (and because the record currently before the Court does not establish complete diversity between the parties or permit the undersigned to verify that he enjoys subj ect matter jurisdiction), the Court GRANTS 32 Defendant's Motion to Withdraw 2 Notice of Removal filed by Shannon Howard and REMANDS this case to the Circuit Court of Madison County, Illinois. This RENDERS MOOT all other pending motions (wh ich had not yet been fully briefed and were not ripe), including 16 Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim filed by Shannon Howard, 19 Motion to Remand to State Court filed by Jennifer Rice, and 28 Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim filed by John Mourton.Signed by Judge Michael J. Reagan on 1/31/2012. (soh )

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
JENNIFER RICE,
Plaintiff,
Vs.
PILOT TRAVEL CENTERS, LLC,
JOHN MOURTON, and
SHANNON HOWARD,
Defendants.

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Case No. 11-1037-MJR-DGW

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
REMANDING CASE TO STATE COURT
REAGAN, District Judge:
Originally filed in the Circuit Court of Madison County, Illinois,
this lawsuit names three Defendants: (1) Pilot Travel Centers, LLC (formerly
known as Flying J, Inc. and doing business as Flying J Travel Center), (2) John
Mourton, and (3) Shannon Howard.1 Jennifer Rice (Plaintiff) alleges that she
was discharged in retaliation for exercising rights secured to her under the
Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act, in violation of the public policy of the State
of Illinois, as well as interference with economic advantage.
More specifically, the complaint alleged the following. Plaintiff was
employed by Flying J, Inc. (now “FJ Management Inc.”) at its Pontoon Beach,

The state court complaint (Doc. 2-2) does not separately name FJ
Management Inc. as a defendant. It contains three counts, one directed
to Pilot Travel Centers, LLC (formerly known as Flying J, Inc. and doing
business as Flying J Travel Center), one directed to John Mourton, and
one directed to Shannon Howard. The removal notice filed in this Court,
however, reads as if FJ Management Inc. is a fourth named Defendant.
All Defendants are represented by the same counsel herein.

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Illinois store.

In December 2008, Plaintiff was injured on the job.

She

requested and received workers’ compensation benefits. John Mourton was in
charge of Flying J’s “investigation” which culminated in the decision to
discharge Plaintiff.

Shannon Howard assisted in the investigation, acted

maliciously and with personal animosity toward Plaintiff, and interfered with
Plaintiff’s employment/business relationship.

Plaintiff was discharged from

her employment on April 1, 2009, as a result of requesting workers’
compensation benefits, thereby contravening a clear mandate of public policy
in Illinois.
On November 22, 2011, Defendant Howard (who apparently had
been served on November 18, 2011) removed the case to this United States
District Court, invoking subject matter jurisdiction under the federal diversity
statute, 28 U.S.C. 1332. CoDefendants Mourton and Pilot Travel (f/k/a Flying
J, Inc.) – along with FJ Management, Inc. – filed written consents to the
removal the same day (Doc. 9).
The case survived was tracked and given a trial date.

Shortly

thereafter, defense counsel moved to dismiss the claims directed against
Defendants Howard and Mourton for failure to state a claim, and Plaintiff
moved to remand the case to state court. Before the briefing deadlines elapsed
on the pending motions, Defendant Howard (with the consent of coDefendants)
moved to withdraw her removal notice.

[The Court notes that none of the

pending motions (for dismissal or remand) is yet ripe, as responses were not
yet due or filed.]

2

The

January

30th

motion

to

withdraw

explains

that

FJ

Management Inc. is the main member of Defendant Pilot Travel Centers LLC,
that the removal notice had focused on the citizenship of the majority members
of Pilot -- considering Pilot and FJ Management Inc., the entity that formerly
employed Plaintiff, to be the real parties in interest herein -- but now the
remand motion has challenged (inter alia) the citizenship of each and every
member (including “nominal parties”/members) of the LLCs. “Given the time
and resources involved in the investigation of each potential nominal party in
this matter, … it is impractical for Defendant to investigate the ownership and
citizenship of each of these individuals or entities in support of her removal”
(Doc. 32, p. 3).

Accordingly, the motion “concedes this matter should be

remanded to the Circuit Court of Madison County, Illinois” (id.).
Defendant (who sought this federal forum and bore the burden of
establishing each element of diversity jurisdiction) has acknowledged that the
record currently before the Court does not clearly reveal complete diversity
between all parties.

The law of this Circuit plainly holds that, for diversity

purposes, the citizenship of an LLC is the citizenship of each of its members,
and “if those members have members, the citizenship of those members as
well.”

Thomas v. Guardsmark, LLC, 487 F.3d 531, 534 (7th Cir. 2007);

Camico Mutual Ins. Co. v. Citizens Bank, 474 F.3d 989, 992 (7th Cir.
2007).
The record before the Court does not contain all information
needed for the undersigned Judge to verify that complete diversity exists

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between

the

parties

and

that

he

enjoys

subject

matter

jurisdiction.

Accordingly, the Court GRANTS Defendant’s motion (Doc. 32) to withdraw the
notice of removal.

Lacking subject matter jurisdiction, the undersigned Judge

REMANDS this case to the Circuit Court of Madison County, Illinois, which
RENDERS MOOT all pending motions (Docs. 16, 19 and 28).
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED January 31, 2012.
s/ Michael J. Reagan
Michael J. Reagan
United States District Judge

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