Ibarra v. Saia Motor Freight Line, LLC

Full title: LUIS IBARRA, Plaintiff, v. SAIA MOTOR FREIGHT LINE, LLC, d/b/a SAIA LTL…

Court: UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO

Date published: Oct 20, 2020

Civil Action No. 20-cv-02155-RM-SKC (D. Colo. Oct. 20, 2020)

Opinion

Civil Action No. 20-cv-02155-RM-SKC

10-20-2020

LUIS IBARRA, Plaintiff, v. SAIA MOTOR FREIGHT LINE, LLC, d/b/a SAIA LTL FREIGHT, and ROBERT PIERCE, Defendants.

Judge Raymond P. Moore

ORDER

This matter is before the Court sua sponte upon review of the Complaint and finding an issue is raised as to whether subject matter jurisdiction has been plausibly alleged. See Amazon, Inc. v. Dirt Camp, Inc., 273 F.3d 1271, 1276 (10th Cir. 2001) (A federal court has an independent obligation to examine its own jurisdiction at every stage of the proceeding.). Plaintiff asserts diversity jurisdiction exists pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332, which requires complete diversity of citizenship between the parties. Grynberg v. Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P., 805 F.3d 901, 905 (10th Cir. 2015). Here, to show diversity, Plaintiff alleges the following:

• Plaintiff Luis Ibarra is a person who resides in Commerce City, Colorado;

• Defendant Saia Motor Freight Line, LLC d/b/a Saia LTL Freight is a Louisiana Limited Liability Company with a principal place of business in Johns Creek, Georgia; and

• Defendant Robert Pierce is a person who resides in the State of Missouri.

(ECF No. 1, ¶¶ 1, 2, 4.)

A corporation is "deemed to be a citizen of every State and foreign state by which it has been incorporated and of the State or foreign state where it has its principal place of business." 28 U.S.C. § 1332(c)(1). But, "an LLC, as an unincorporated association, takes the citizenship of all its members." Siloam Springs Hotel, L.L.C. v. Century Sur. Co., 781 F.3d 1233, 1234 (10th Cir. 2015) (citation omitted); see also, e.g., Grynberg, 805 F.3d at 905 ("an unincorporated entity's citizenship is typically determined by its members' citizenship"). Here, Defendant Saia is an LLC, but Plaintiff fails to allege the identity and citizenship of its members. As such, diversity jurisdiction has not been shown.

Based on the foregoing, it is ORDERED that on or before Tuesday, November 13, 2020, Plaintiff shall SHOW CAUSE why this case should not be dismissed without prejudice due to this Court's lack of subject matter jurisdiction.

DATED this 20th day of October, 2020.

BY THE COURT:

/s/_________

RAYMOND P. MOORE

United States District Judge