Opinion
3:22-cv-444
05-12-2022
Bolt Express, LLC, Plaintiff, v. Proper Tooling, Inc., Defendant.
ORDER
JEFFREY J. HELMICK UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
On March 21, 2022, Plaintiff Bolt Express, LLC filed suit against Defendant Proper Tooling, Inc., asserting this court had original diversity jurisdiction over this matter. (Doc. No. 1 at 2).
For a district court to have original diversity jurisdiction over a case, complete diversity must exist between the parties to the dispute. 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a). To satisfy the diversity jurisdiction requirements, the dispute must be between citizens of different states. 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a)(1). “[A] limited liability company has the citizenship of each of its members.” Delay v. Rosenthal Collins Grp., LLC, 585 F.3d 1003, 1005 (6th Cir. 2009).
In the Complaint, Plaintiff stated it is an Ohio LLC and that none of its members are citizens of the state of Michigan. (Doc. No. 1 at 1). While this does address the relevant question of LLC-member citizenship, the general assertion is insufficient. Instead, “the court needs to know the citizenship of each member of the company.” Delay, 585 F.3d at 1005. Therefore, Plaintiff must identify each of its members, as well as any sub-members. For each member and sub-member, Plaintiff must also state jurisdictional allegations sufficient for me to determine the citizenship of the member. For example, if a member is a corporation, Plaintiff must state the place of incorporation and principal place of business of that member.
To maintain this action in federal court, Plaintiff shall file an affidavit of jurisdiction within 28 days of the filing of this order, identifying its members and any sub-members. The affidavit shall also state all information necessary for me to determine the citizenship of each.
So Ordered.