Opinion
Civil Action 22-cv-1497-WJM
07-05-2022
BOKANON, LLC, Plaintiff, v. AVE, INC., a foreign corporation, KEN, INC., a domestic corporation, JOHN KENNETH COIL, CAITLYN COIL, Defendants.
ORDER MAKING ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE ABSOLUTE AND REMANDING CASE TO PUEBLO COUNTY DISTRICT COURT
WILLIAM J. MARTINEZ, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE.
This matter is before the Court on the Notice of Removal filed by Defendant Caitlyn Coil on June 14, 2022. (ECF No. 1.) On June 23, 2022, this Court ordered Defendants to show cause why this case should not be remanded to Pueblo County District Court for lack of diversity jurisdiction. (ECF No. 11.) On June 28, 2022, Defendants filed a response to the Order to Show Cause. (ECF No. 12.)
Diversity jurisdiction requires that “no plaintiff may be a citizen of the same state as any defendant.” Grynberg v. Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P., 805 F.3d 901, 905 (10th Cir. 2015). A limited liability company takes the citizenship of all its members. See Siloam Springs Hotel, LLC v. Century Sur. Co., 781 F.3d 1233 (10th Cir. 2015). The burden is on the party invoking federal jurisdiction to show that it exists. State Farm Mut. Auto Ins. Co. v. Dyer, 19 F.3d 514, 518 (10th Cir. 1994). In this procedural posture, where uncertainties exist regarding the Court's jurisdiction, those uncertainties are resolved in favor of remand. Martin v. Franklin Capital Corp., 251 F.3d 1284, 1290 (10th Cir. 2001).
According to the Complaint, Plaintiff Bokanon, LLC is a limited liability company, and John Altaire Coil is its sole owner and sole member. (ECF No. 1-2 ¶ 8.) Plaintiff alleges that Bokanon, LLC is a foreign limited liability company, organized under the laws of Texas, with its principal place of business in Dallas, Texas. (Id. ¶ 1.) Plaintiff does not allege John Altaire Coil's citizenship. (Id. ¶ 8.)
In the Notice of Removal, Defendants state that John Altaire Coil variously claims his citizenship as either Texas or Alabama, depending on the circumstance. (ECF No. 1 at 1.) In the response to the Order to Show Cause, Defendants state that John Altaire Coil has represented himself as a citizen of Alabama. (ECF No. 12 at 2.) However, later in its response, Defendants state that they believe John Altaire Coil is a citizen of Texas. (Id. at 3.) Therefore, Bokanon, LLC is potentially a Texas or Alabama citizen.
Bokanon, LLC sues Defendants Ave, Inc., a Texas citizen; Ken, Inc., a Colorado citizen; John Kenneth Coil, an Illinois citizen; and Caitlyn Coil, an Illinois citizen. (ECF No. 1-2 ¶¶ 1-6.) Based on these allegations, it remains possible that Bokanon, LLC and Ave, Inc. are both Texas citizens, which would destroy diversity jurisdiction.
Despite Defendants' arguments that the Court should realign the parties or find Ave, Inc. is fraudulently joined, the Court finds that Defendants have failed to meet their burden to demonstrate that diversity jurisdiction exists in this case. Because it remains possible that at least one defendant is a citizen of the same state as Bokanon, LLC, the Court finds that diversity jurisdiction is lacking in this case and resolves the procedural uncertainties in favor of remand.
Accordingly, this Court's Order to Show Cause is MADE ABSOLUTE, and the Court ORDERS that this action is REMANDED to Pueblo County District Court. The Clerk shall transmit the file to the state court.