Polar v. Wal-Mart Louisiana, LLC

Filing 2

ORDER to Amend 1 Notice of Removal: IT IS ORDERED that dft Wal-Mart Louisiana, LLC, shall have 14 days to file an Amended Notice of Removal which properly alleges its citizenship.. Signed by Magistrate Judge Stephen C. Riedlinger on 4/24/2012. (CMM)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA

MONIQUE POLAR
CIVIL ACTION
VERSUS
NUMBER 12-235-BAJ-SCR
WAL-MART LOUISIANA, LLC
ORDER TO AMEND NOTICE OF REMOVAL
Defendant Wal-Mart Louisiana, LLC, removed this case asserting
subject matter jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332, diversity of
citizenship.

In the Notice of Removal the defendant alleged that

it is “a Delaware limited liability company with its principal
place of business in Bentonville, Arkansas.”
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
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

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).
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
(continued...)

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 defendant is a

limited liability company, the state where it is organized and
where it has its principal place of business does not determine its
citizenship.4
Therefore;
IT IS ORDERED that defendant Wal-Mart Louisiana, LLC, shall
have 14 days to file an Amended Notice of Removal which properly
alleges its citizenship.
Failure to comply with this order may result in the case being
remanded for lack of subject matter jurisdiction without further

2

(...continued)
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).
4

Although the court knows from experience in other cases in
which Wal-Mart Louisiana, LLC is a party that it is a citizen of
Arkansas, the court cannot simply substitute its knowledge for the
allegations which should be in the Notice of Removal. The better
course is for the defendant to file an amended notice which
includes the necessary jurisdictional allegations.
2

notice.
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, April 24, 2012.

STEPHEN C. RIEDLINGER
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

3