Miller et al v. The Waggoners Trucking et al

Filing 3

ORDER as to 1 Notice of Removal, filed by The Waggoners Trucking, John D. Esparza. It is ordered that removing defendants John D. Esparza, Esparza Transport Services, LLC, and The Waggoners Trucking shall have 14 days to file an Amended Notice of Removal. Signed by Magistrate Judge Stephen C. Riedlinger on 4/10/2012. (LSM) Modified on 4/10/2012 to change document type (LSM).

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA

LAWRENCE MILLER AND
WYLONDA MILLER

CIVIL ACTION

VERSUS

NUMBER 12-199-JJB-SCR

JOHN D. ESPARZA, ET AL
ORDER TO AMEND NOTICE OF REMOVAL
Defendants John D. Esparza, Esparza Transport Services, LLC,
and The Waggoners Trucking removed this case from state court
asserting subject matter jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332,
diversity of citizenship.
in

their

Notice

of

To establish diversity of citizenship,

Removal

the

defendants

alleged

that

the

plaintiffs are citizens of Louisiana, defendant Esparza is a
citizen of California, defendant “Esparza Transport Services , LLC
is a foreign corporation incorporated in the State of California,
and with its principal place of business in California,” defendant
The Waggoners Trucking is a incorporated in the State of Montana
and has its principal place of business in Oklahoma, and defendant
“EAN

Holdings,

LLC,

...

is

a

Delaware

corporation

with

its

principal place of business in St. Louis, Missouri.”1
When jurisdiction depends on citizenship, the citizenship of
each

party

1

must

be

distinctly

and

affirmatively

alleged

in

Record document number 1, Notice of Removal, ¶ 1.
Defendants also alleged that defendant Aaron Eligar is citizen of
Louisiana, but that he is improperly joined.

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
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
Defendants’ jurisdictional allegations are not sufficient to
establish diversity jurisdiction. Defendants Esparza Transport
Services and EAN Holdings include the “LLC” designation in their
names.

Typically, an entity using “LLC” in its name is organized

2

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).
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

as a limited liability company rather than a corporation. If these
defendants are organized as a limited liability companies, their
citizenship cannot be determined from the defendants’ allegation.5
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 removing defendants John D. Esparza,
Esparza Transport Services, LLC, and The Waggoners Trucking shall
have 14 days to file an Amended Notice of Removal which (1)
clarifies the whether defendants Esparza Transport Services, LLC
and EAN Holdings, LLC are organized as limited liability companies
or corporations, and (2) to properly allege the citizenship of any
defendant which is a limited liability company.
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, April 10, 2012.

STEPHEN C. RIEDLINGER
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

5

If these defendants are corporation, then the citizenship
allegation in the Notice of Removal are sufficient.
3