Pruitt v. Sentry Select Insurance Company et al

Filing 4

ORDER: the removing defendants Blue Beacon USA, LP (f/k/a Blue Beacon of Hammond, LP), Blue Beacon International, Inc., and Sentry Select Insurance Company shall have 14 days to file an Amended Notice of Removal which properly alleges the citizenship of Blue Beacon USA, LP. Failure to comply with this order may result in the case being remanded without further notice for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.. Signed by Magistrate Judge Stephen C. Riedlinger on 10/4/2012. (LLH)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA

JOHN PRUITT
CIVIL ACTION
VERSUS
NUMBER 12-595-JJB-SCR
BLUE BEACON TRUCK WASH, ET AL
ORDER TO AMEND NOTICE OF REMOVAL
Defendants Blue Beacon USA, LP (f/k/a Blue Beacon of Hammond,
LP),1 Blue Beacon International, Inc., and Sentry Select Insurance
Company removed this case from state court asserting subject matter
jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a), diversity of citizenship.
To establish diversity of citizenship in their Notice of Removal
the defendants alleged that Sentry Select Insurance Company is
incorporated and has its principal place of business in Wisconsin,
Blue

Beacon

International,

Inc.

is

incorporated

and

has

its

principal place of business in Kansas, and Blue Beacon USA, LP is
a Kansas limited partnership with its principal place of business
in Kansas.2
When jurisdiction depends on citizenship, the citizenship of
each

party

must

be

distinctly

and

affirmatively

alleged

in

1

Blue Beacon USA, LP stated that it was erroneously
designated in the petition as Blue Beacon Truck Wash.
2

Record document number 1, ¶¶ 16-18.
be a citizen of Arizona.

Plaintiff is alleged to

accordance

with

§

1332(a)

and

(c).3

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 or limited partnership is determined by
considering the citizenship of all its members or partners.4

The

state where a limited liability company or limited partnership is
organized and where it has its principal place of business does not
determine its citizenship for the purpose of § 1332.

Thus, to

properly allege the citizenship of a limited liability company or
limited partnership, the party asserting jurisdiction must identify
each of the entity’s members or partners and the citizenship of
each one in accordance with the requirements of § 1332(a) and (c).5
Defendants’ jurisdictional allegation as to defendant Blue
Beacon USA, LP, do not sufficiently allege its citizenship in

3

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).
4

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).
5

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

accordance with § 1332 and Harvey v. Grey Wolf Drilling Co.
Therefore;
IT IS ORDERED that the removing defendants Blue Beacon USA, LP
(f/k/a Blue Beacon of Hammond, LP), Blue Beacon International,
Inc., and Sentry Select Insurance Company shall have 14 days to
file an Amended Notice of Removal which properly alleges the
citizenship of Blue Beacon USA, LP.
Failure to comply with this order may result in the case being
remanded

without

further

notice

for

lack

of

subject

matter

jurisdiction.
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, October 4, 2012.

STEPHEN C. RIEDLINGER
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

3