Dunn v. Xencom Facility Management, LLC et al

Filing 3

ORDER to Amend Notice of Removal : The removing defendants Xencom Facility Management, LLC and Mall of Louisiana, LLC shall have 14 days to file an Amended Notice of Removal which correctly alleges their citizenship in accordance with 28 U.S.C. &# 167; 1332(a) and (c) and Harvey v. Grey Wolf Drilling Co. Failure to comply with this order will result in the case being remanded without further notice for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Signed by Magistrate Judge Stephen C. Riedlinger on 7/19/2013. (LLH)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA

JAMES DUNN
CIVIL ACTION
VERSUS
NUMBER 13-469-JJB-SCR
XENCOM FACILITY MANAGEMENT, LLC,
ET AL
ORDER TO AMEND NOTICE OF REMOVAL
Defendants

Xencom

Facility

Management,

LLC

and

Mall

of

Louisiana, LLC removed this personal injury case from state court
asserting subject matter jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a),
diversity of citizenship.1

Although he alleged in his petition

that he his domicile in Florida, in the Notice of Removal the
defendants alleged the plaintiff resides in Louisiana.

As to

their own citizenship, the defendants identified the states where
they were organized and have their principal place of business.2
When jurisdiction depends on citizenship, the citizenship of
each

party

accordance

must
with

be
§

distinctly

1332(a)

and

and
(c).3

affirmatively
Under

§

alleged

in

1332(c)(1)

a

1

Defendants alleged that in his Petition for Damages the
plaintiff erroneously identified GCP-Mall of Louisiana Holding,
LLC, as the owner of the Mall of Louisiana. Record document number
1, Notice of Removal, p. 1.
2

3

Id.

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
(continued...)

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.
limited

For purposes of diversity, the citizenship of a

liability

company

or

partnership

is

considering the citizenship of all its members.4

determined

by

The state where

a limited liability company or 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 partnership, 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).5
Defendants have not adequately alleged their citizenship.
Defendants failed to identify their members, who or which may be
individuals, corporations, other limited liability companies, or
some other form of entity, and they failed to properly allege the

3

(...continued)
1662); Mullins v. TestAmerica, Inc., 564 F.3d 386, 397 (5th Cir.
2009).
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); Mullins, supra.
2

citizenship of each member in accordance with § 1332(a) and (c).
The failure to properly identify and allege the citizenship of the
defendants’ members makes it impossible for the court to determine
whether there is complete diversity.
Therefore;
IT IS ORDERED that the removing defendants Xencom Facility
Management, LLC and Mall of Louisiana, LLC shall have 14 days to
file an Amended Notice of Removal which correctly alleges their
citizenship in accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a) and (c) and
Harvey v. Grey Wolf Drilling Co.
Failure to comply with this order will result in the case
being remanded without further notice for lack of subject matter
jurisdiction.
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, July 19, 2013.

STEPHEN C. RIEDLINGER
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

3