Lucas v. Ocwen Loan Servicing LLC, et al

Filing 4

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE by Judge Robert S. Lasnik. Defendants are ORDERED TO SHOW CAUSE why the Court should not remand this action to state court by providing the Court with the citizenship of all of the owners/members of Ocwen Capital Management, LLC, at the time the complaint was filed, by September 28, 2012. (CL)

1
2
3
4
5
6

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT SEATTLE

7
8

JOSEPH LUCAS,

9
10
11

Plaintiff,
Case No. C12-1552RSL
v.
ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE

12

OCWEN LOAN SERVICING, LLC, et
al.,

13

Defendants.

14
15

This matter comes before the Court sua sponte. On September 12, 2012,

16

defendant removed the above-captioned matter to federal court alleging that the Court has

17

jurisdiction based on the diversity of citizenship of the parties. See 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a)

18

(establishing that the federal court’s basic diversity jurisdiction extends to “all civil

19

actions where the matter in controversy exceeds . . . $75,000 . . . and is between . . .

20

citizens of different States.”). “For a case to qualify for federal jurisdiction under 28

21

U.S.C. § 1332(a), there must be complete diversity of citizenship between the parties

22

opposed in interest.” Kuntz v. Lamar Corp., 385 F.3d 1177, 1181 (9th Cir. 2004)

23

(internal citation omitted). In examining whether complete diversity is present, the

24

citizenship of a limited liability company is determined by examining the citizenship of

25
26

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE - 1

1

the owners/members. See Johnson v. Columbia Props. Anchorage, LP, 437 F.3d 894, 899

2

(9th Cir. 2006) (holding that “like a partnership, an LLC is a citizen of every state of

3

which its owners/members are citizens”).

4

Although defendants acknowledge the above authority, they failed to provide the

5

citizenship of each owner/member of Ocwen Capital Management, LLC, the general

6

partner of defendant Litton Loan Servicing LP. Therefore, defendants have failed to meet

7

their burden to establish the basis of the Court’s jurisdiction. See Indus. Tectonics, Inc. v.

8

Aero Alloy, 912 F.2d 1090, 1092 (9th Cir. 1990) (“The party asserting jurisdiction has the

9

burden of proving all jurisdictional facts”); Fed R. Civ. P. 12(h)(3) (“If the Court

10

determines at any time that it lacks subject-matter jurisdiction, the court must dismiss the

11

action”). As a result, defendants are ORDERED TO SHOW CAUSE why the Court

12

should not remand this action to state court by providing the Court with the citizenship of

13

all of the owners/members of Ocwen Capital Management, LLC, at the time the

14

complaint was filed, by September 28, 2012. The Clerk of the Court is directed to place

15

this order to show cause on the Court’s calendar for September 28, 2012.

16
Dated this 14th day of September, 2012.
17
18

A

19

Robert S. Lasnik
United States District Judge

20
21
22
23
24
25
26

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE - 2