TV6 Holdings, LLC vs. Chestnut Development, LLC

Filing 18

ORDER denying 16 Ex Parte MOTION for Leave to File First Amending Complaint. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1653, Plaintiff shall file an Amended Complaint providing the citizenship of the parties, TV6 Holdings, LLC and Chestnut Development, L LC, on or before June 2, 2017. In the alternative to filing the foregoing pleading, Plaintiff may file a renewed motion to amend providing the citizenship of the parties, TV6 Holdings, LLC and Chestnut Development, LLC, as well as the proposed additional defendant, O.U.R.S., LLC. Signed by Magistrate Judge Richard L. Bourgeois, Jr. on 5/19/2017. (LLH)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA

TV6 HOLDINGS, LLC

CIVIL ACTION

VERSUS
NO. 16-700-JWD-RLB
CHESTNUT DEVELOPMENT, L.L.C.

ORDER
Before the Court is Plaintiff’s Motion for Leave to File First Amending Complaint to
Amend and Supplement Allegations and to Add a Party (R. Doc. 16) filed on May 15, 2017. The
motion is unopposed. (R. Doc. 17).
Plaintiff seeks to add O.U.R.S., LLC as a defendant.
This is a diversity action. In order for the Court to determine whether the motion should
be granted, the Court must determine whether the additional defendant will affect the continued
exercise of jurisdiction.
The instant proposed pleading (R. Doc. 16-1) is deficient with regard to the citizenship of
O.U.R.S., LLC. Upon further review of the record, the Court has also determined that the
Complaint (R. Doc. 1) is deficient with regard to the citizenship of TV6 Holdings, LLC and
Chestnut Development, LLC.
“The burden of proving that complete diversity exists rests upon the party who seeks to
invoke the court’s diversity jurisdiction.” Getty Oil Corp., a Div. of Texaco v. Ins. Co. of N. Am.,
841 F.2d 1254, 1259 (5th Cir. 1988). The citizenship of a limited liability company is
determined by the citizenship of each of its members, not the state under whose laws it is
organized, the location of its principal place of business, or its authorization to do business in a

certain state. See Harvey v. Grey Wolf Drilling Co., 542 F.3d 1077, 1080 (5th Cir. 2008). When
members are themselves limited liability companies, the citizenship must be traced through
however many layers of members there may be. Turner Bros. Crane & Rigging, LLC v.
Kingboard Chem. Holding Ltd., No. 06-88, 2007 WL 2848154, at *4 (M.D. La. Sept. 24, 2007).
Accordingly,
IT IS ORDERED that Plaintiffs’ Motion to Amend (R. Doc. 16) is DENIED.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1653, Plaintiff shall file an
Amended Complaint providing the citizenship of the parties, TV6 Holdings, LLC and Chestnut
Development, LLC, on or before June 2, 2017. In the alternative to filing the foregoing
pleading, Plaintiff may file a renewed motion to amend providing the citizenship of the parties,
TV6 Holdings, LLC and Chestnut Development, LLC, as well as the proposed additional
defendant, O.U.R.S., LLC. If Plaintiff choses to file a renewed motion to amend, the proposed
pleading must include all of Plaintiff’s active allegations and causes of action and may not
incorporate by reference, refer to, or otherwise depend upon the allegations in the original
Complaint.
Signed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on May 19, 2017.

S

RICHARD L. BOURGEOIS, JR.
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE