Hartford Fire Insurance Company v. Nottingham Construction Company, LLC et al

Filing 3

ORDER to Amend Complaint: IT IS ORDERED that plaintiff Hartford Fire Insurance Company shall have 14 days to file an Amended Complaint which clarifies the organizational form of defendants Nottingham Construction Company, L.L.C. and C&T Equipment, L.L.C., and properly alleges the citizenship of the defendant if it is a limited liability company.. Signed by Magistrate Judge Stephen C. Riedlinger on 8/26/2011. (CMM)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA

HARTFORD FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY
CIVIL ACTION
VERSUS
NUMBER 11-590-BAJ-SCR
NOTTINGHAM CONSTRUCTION COMPANY,
L.L.C., ET AL
ORDER TO AMEND COMPLAINT
Plaintiff Hartford Fire Insurance Company filed this civil
action asserting subject matter jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. §
1332, diversity of citizenship.

Plaintiff alleged that it is a

Connecticut corporation with its principal place of business in
that state.

Plaintiff named as two of the defendants “Nottingham

Construction Company, L.L.C. (‘Nottingham’), a Louisiana limited
liability corporation with its principal place of business in East
Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana,” and “C&T Equipment, L.L.C. (‘C&T
Equipment’) a Louisiana limited liability corporation with its
principal place of business in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana.”
When jurisdiction depends on citizenship, the citizenship of
each

party

must

be

distinctly

and

affirmatively

alleged

in

accordance with § 1332(a) and (c).1
Under § 1332(c)(1) a corporation is deemed to be a citizen of
any state in which it is incorporated, and of the state in which it

1

Stafford v. Mobil Oil Corp., 945 F.2d 803, 804 (5th Cir.
1991), citing, McGovern v. American Airlines, Inc., 511 F.2d 653,
654 (5th Cir. 1975)(quoting 2A Moore’s Federal Practice ¶ 8.10, at
1662).

has its principal place of business.

For purposes of diversity,

the citizenship of a limited liability company is determined by
considering the citizenship of all its members.2

Thus, to properly

allege the citizenship of a limited liability company, the party
asserting jurisdiction must identify each of the entity’s members
and

the

citizenship

of

each

member

in

accordance

with

the

requirements of § 1332(a) and (c).3
Defendant’s jurisdictional allegations are not sufficient to
establish diversity jurisdiction because the form of organization
of defendants Nottingham and C&T Equipment is unclear, and if they
are limited liability companies, their citizenship has not been
properly alleged.

Plaintiff named both defendant Nottingham and

defendant C&T Equipment using the term “L.L.C.” but then described
each as a “limited liability corporation.”

The use of “L.L.C.” in

the name typically refers to a limited liability company, not a
corporation. If defendant Nottingham and/or C&T Equipment is a
limited liability company, its citizenship is not determined by the
state where it is incorporated or has its principal place of
business.

Its citizenship is determined by the citizenship of its

2

Harvey v. Grey Wolf Drilling Co., 542 F.3d 1077, 1080 (5th
Cir. 2008); see Carden v. Arkoma Associates, 494 U.S. 185, 110
S.Ct. 1015, 1021 (1990).
3

The same requirement applies to any member of a limited
liability company which is also a limited liability company or a
partnership.
Turner Bros. Crane and Rigging, LLC v. Kingboard
Chemical Holding Ltd., 2007 WL 2848154 (M.D.La. Sept. 24,
2007)(when partners or members are themselves entities or
associations, citizenship must be traced through however many
layers of members or partners there are).
2

members.
Therefore;
IT IS ORDERED that plaintiff Hartford Fire Insurance Company
shall have 14 days to file an Amended Complaint which clarifies the
organizational form of defendants Nottingham Construction Company,
L.L.C.

and

C&T

Equipment,

L.L.C.,

and

properly

alleges

the

citizenship of the defendant if it is a limited liability company.
Failure to comply with this order may result in the case being
dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction without further
notice.
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, August 26, 2011.

STEPHEN C. RIEDLINGER
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

3