A+ Manufacturing, LLC v. Valtronics, Inc. et al

Filing 3

ORDER to Amend Notice of Removal: IT IS ORDERED that defendant Valtronics, Inc. shall have 14 days to file an Amended Notice of Removal which properly alleges the citizenship of the plaintiff.. Signed by Magistrate Judge Stephen C. Riedlinger on 2/21/2012. (CMM)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA

A+ MANUFACTURING, LLC
CIVIL ACTION
VERSUS
NUMBER 12-98-FJP-SCR
VALTRONICS, INC.
ORDER TO AMEND NOTICE OF REMOVAL
Defendant Valtronics, Inc. removed this case from state court
asserting subject matter jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332,
diversity of citizenship.

To establish diversity of citizenship,

in Defendant Valtronics, Inc.’s Notice of Removal it alleged that
the plaintiff “is a Louisiana limited liability company” and the
defendant is a West Virginia corporation with its principal place
of business in West Virginia.1
When jurisdiction depends on citizenship, the citizenship of
each

party

must

be

distinctly

and

affirmatively

alleged

in

accordance with § 1332(a) and (c).2
Under § 1332(c)(1) a corporation is deemed to be a citizen of
every state in which it is incorporated and of the state in which

1

Record document number 1, ¶¶ 7 and 8. The attached
court Petition for Declaratory Judgment alleged the plaintiff
Louisiana Limited Liability Company domiciled at 41041 Black
Road, Gonzales, Louisiana, 70737.” Record document number
Exhibit A, ¶ 2.
2

state
is “a
Bayou
1-1,

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).

it 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.3

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).4
Defendant’s jurisdictional allegations are not sufficient to
establish

diversity

jurisdiction.

Because

the

plaintiff

is

organized as a limited liability company, its citizenship cannot be
determined from the defendant’s allegation.

Neither the state

where a limited liability company is organized, nor the state where
it has its principal place of business, determines its citizenship.
Therefore;
IT IS ORDERED that defendant Valtronics, Inc. shall have 14
days to file an Amended Notice of Removal which properly alleges
the citizenship of the plaintiff.

3

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). The determination of the citizenship of
the parties in this case is not affected by the Federal Courts
Jurisdiction and Venue Clarification Act of 2011.
4

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

Failure to comply with this order may result in the case being
remanded for lack of subject matter jurisdiction without further
notice.
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, February 21, 2012.

STEPHEN C. RIEDLINGER
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

3