Opinion
Case No. 18-cv-06304-JSW
12-03-2018
FRANISHA BEASLEY, Plaintiff, v. ESA MANAGEMENT LLC, and DOES 1-100, Defendants.
ORDER TO DEFENDANT TO SHOW CAUSE RE DIVERSITY OF CITIZENSHIP
Re: Dkt. No. 1
On July 23, 2018, Defendants removed this case from Los Angeles County Superior Court to the United States District Court for the Central District of California. That court subsequently transferred the case to this District, and the Court has related the matter to Reid v. ESA Management LLC, et al., 18-cv-2550-JSW and Arizmendi v. ESA Management LLC, et al., 18-cv-5821-JSW.
Defendant ESA Management LLC has removed this action under the Class Action Fairness Act. CAFA requires diversity of citizenship between "any member of a class of plaintiffs" and "any defendant." 28 U.S.C. § 1332(d)(2)(A). In its notice of removal, Defendant ESA Management LLC states that it is organized under the laws of Delaware and that its principal officers are located in North Carolina. (Notice of Removal, ¶ 22.) Under Ninth Circuit law, "an LLC is a citizen of every state of which its owners/members are citizens." Johnson v. Columbia Properties Anchorage, LP, 437 F.3d 894, 899 (9th Cir. 2006). Defendant has not included information about the citizenship of its owners and members. See, e.g., Hale v. MasterSoft Int'l Pty., Ltd., 93 F. Supp. 2d 1108, 1112 (D. Colo. 2000) ("Other courts ... have uniformly held that a limited liability company is a citizen of the states of which its members are citizens, and is not a citizen of the state in which it was organized unless one of its members is a citizen of that state.") (citing cases).
Accordingly, Defendant is HEREBY ORDERED TO SHOW CAUSE in writing by December 17, 2018, why this matter should not be remanded to state court for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.
IT IS SO ORDERED. Dated: December 3, 2018
/s/_________
JEFFREY S. WHITE
United States District Judge