Satellite Works, LLC et al v. Bankers Insurance Company

Filing 2

ORDER TO AMEND COMPLAINT: Plaintiffs Satellite Works, LLC and Jannero Temple shall have 10 days to file an amended complaint which properly alleges their citizenship and the citizenship of the defendant. Failure to comply with this order may result in the case being dismissed without further notice for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Signed by Magistrate Judge Stephen C. Riedlinger on 12/18/2014. (LLH)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA

SATELLITE WORKS, LLC AND
JANNERO TEMPLE

CIVIL ACTION

VERSUS

NUMBER 14-786-SDD-SCR

BANKERS INSURANCE COMPANY D/B/A
BANKERS INSURANCE GROUP
ORDER TO AMEND COMPLAINT
Plaintiffs Satellite Works, LLC and Jannero Temple filed a
Complaint asserting subject matter jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. §
1332, diversity of citizenship.

Plaintiffs alleged that Temple is

“residing” in St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana, and that he
is the sole member of Satellite Works, LLC.

Plaintiffs alleged

that defendant Bankers Insurance Company is a Florida insurance
company “licensed to do an doing business in Louisiana.”
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

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).

considering the citizenship of all its members.2
allege

the

citizenship

of

a

corporation

the

Thus, to properly
party

asserting

jurisdiction must allege both the state(s) of incorporation and the
principal place of business.

For 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

Use of “LLC” in the entity’s

name usually means the entity is organized as a limited liability
company rather than a corporation.
Plaintiffs’ jurisdictional allegations are not sufficient to
determine whether there is diversity of citizenship.

A natural

person may reside in state of which he is not a citizen for the
purpose of § 1332. Plaintiffs’ allegation that Temple “resides” in
Louisiana is not equivalent to alleging that he is a Louisiana
citizen.

Consequently, the same allegation is not sufficient to

allege the citizenship of Satellite Works, LLC.
As to defendant Bankers Insurance Company, the plaintiffs
failed to allege the state where it has its principal place of

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
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).
2

business.4

Where the defendant is licensed to do and does business

does not determine its citizenship.
Therefore;
IT IS ORDERED that plaintiffs Satellite Works, LLC and Jannero
Temple shall have 10 days to file an amended complaint which
properly alleges their citizenship and the citizenship of the
defendant.
Failure to comply with this order may result in the case being
dismissed

without

further

notice

for

lack

of

subject

matter

jurisdiction.
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, December 18, 2014.

STEPHEN C. RIEDLINGER
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

4

A corporation may have a place in each state where it does
most of its business, or where its main office in that state is
registered for the purpose of complying with state law, but for the
purpose of § 1332 a corporation has only one overall principal
place of business. See, Hertz Corp. v. Friend, 559 U.S. 77, 93,
130 S.Ct. 1181, 1193 (2010) (term “principal place of business” in
federal diversity jurisdiction statute refers to place where a
corporation’s
officers
direct,
control,
and
coordinate
corporation’s activities, in other words the corporation’s “nerve
center”; corporation’s “nerve center,” for diversity jurisdiction
purposes, is usually its main headquarters, and it is a single
place within a state).
3