Opinion
CAUSE NO. 1:13-CV-230
08-08-2013
ALEXIN, LLC, Plaintiff, v. OLYMPIC METALS, LLC, Defendant.
OPINION AND ORDER
This case was removed here from Wells County Circuit Court on August 7, 2013, based on diversity jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a). (Docket # 2.) The Notice of Removal contends that Plaintiff Alexin, LLC, "is a citizen of the State of Indiana as a limited liability company" and that Defendant Olympic Metals, LLC, "is a limited liability company with its principal place of business in Miami, Florida." (Notice of Removal ¶¶ 4-5.)
Similarly, the Complaint alleges that "Alexin is an Indiana limited liability company with its principal place of business located in Bluffton, Indiana," and that "[u]pon information and belief, Olympic Metals is a Florida limited liability company with its principal place of business located in Miami, Florida." (Compl. ¶¶ 1-2.)
The Notice of Removal, however, is inadequate. A limited liability company's citizenship "for purposes of . . . diversity jurisdiction is the citizenship of its members." Cosgrove v. Bartolotta, 150 F.3d 729, 731 (7th Cir. 1998). Therefore, rather than alleging where Alexin and Olympic Metals are organized and maintain their principal places of business, the Court must be advised of the citizenship of all of Alexin's members and all of Olympic Metals' members to ensure that none of Alexin's members share a common citizenship with Olympic Metals' members. Hicklin Eng'g, L.C. v. Bartell, 439 F.3d 346, 347 (7th Cir. 2006). Moreover, citizenship must be "traced through multiple levels" for those members of Alexin and Olympic Metals who are a partnership or a limited liability company, as anything less can result in a dismissal or remand for want of jurisdiction. Mut. Assignment & Indem. Co. v. Lind-Waldock & Co., LLC, 364 F.3d 858, 861 (7th Cir. 2004).
Therefore, Defendant is ORDERED to supplement the record by filing an Amended Notice of Removal on or before August 22, 2013, properly alleging on personal knowledge the citizenship of Plaintiff Alexin, LLC, and Defendant Olympic Metals, LLC, tracing the citizenship of all unincorporated associations through all applicable layers of ownership.
"Allegations of federal subject matter jurisdiction may not be made on the basis of information and belief, only personal knowledge." Yount v. Shashek, No. Civ. 06-753-GPM, 2006 WL 4017975, at *10 n.1 (S.D. Ill. Dec. 7, 2006) (citing Am.'s Best Inns, Inc. v. Best Inns of Abilene, L.P., 980 F.2d 1072, 1074 (7th Cir. 1992)).
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SO ORDERED.
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Roger B. Cosbey,
United States Magistrate Judge