Opinion
CASE NO. CV418-292
12-13-2018
ALLEN JOHNSON, as brother and surviving heir of Jearlene Johnson, deceased, on behalf of all wrongful death beneficiaries of Jearlene Johnson; and ALLEN JOHNSON, as Executor of the Estate of Jearlene Johnson; Plaintiff, v. ADT, LLC, and JOHN DOES 1-10, Defendants.
ORDER
On December 10, 2018, Plaintiff brought suit in this Court seeking recovery from the events surrounding the death of Jearlene Johnson. (Doc. 1.) In his complaint, Plaintiff contends that this Court has diversity jurisdiction over this action pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332. It is well settled that a party invoking this Court's diversity jurisdiction bears the burden of adequately pleading complete diversity. See 28 U.S.C. § 1332; Ray v. Bird & Son Asset Realization Co., 519 F.2d 1081, 1082 (5th Cir. 1975) ("The burden of pleading diversity of citizenship is upon the party invoking federal jurisdiction, and if jurisdiction is properly challenged, that party also bears the burden of proof."). For the following reasons, Plaintiff has failed to properly establish that this Court has jurisdiction over this action.
In Bonner v. City of Prichard, 661 F.2d 1206, 1209 (11th Cir. 1981) (en banc), the Eleventh Circuit adopted as binding precedent all decisions of the former Fifth Circuit handed down prior to October 1, 1981.
First, Plaintiff has failed to properly allege the citizenship of Defendant ADT, LLC. For the purposes of diversity jurisdiction, a limited liability company ("LLC") is a citizen of every state in which any of its members are citizens. Rolling Greens MHP, LP v. Comcast SCH Holdings LLC, 374 F. 3d 1020, 1021-22 (11th Cir. 2004). The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has been explicit in addressing the proper method to allege sufficiently the citizenship of a LLC: "a party must list the citizenships of all the members of the limited liability company." Id. at 1022. In this case, Plaintiff's complaint does not include a list of the individual members, along with their citizenships, of Defendant ADT, LLC. The complaint merely states that "Defendant ADT, LLC is a foreign limited liability company licensed to do business in the State of Georgia with its principal place of business located at 1501 Yamato Road, Boca Raton, Florida 33431." (Doc. 1 at 2.) As discussed above, this allegation is insufficient to establish complete diversity.
In addition, Plaintiff has failed to provide any information regarding Jearlene Johnson's citizenship. Because Plaintiff Allen Johnson has brought this action in his capacity as the executor of the Jearlene Johnson's estate, Jearlene's Johnson's citizenship is central to this Court's determination of its own jurisdiction. See Moore v. N. Am. Sports, Inc., 623 F.3d 1325, 1327 n.2 (11th Cir. 2010) ("Where an estate is a party, as in this case, the citizenship that counts for diversity purposes is that of the decedent."). In this case, Plaintiff has only provided information regarding Plaintiff Allen Johnson's citizenship. Because Plaintiff has not properly alleged Jearlene Johnson's citizenship, Plaintiff has failed to establish that this Court has jurisdiction over this action.
Due to insufficient allegations in his complaint, Plaintiff is DIRECTED to file an amended complaint—curing the deficiencies discussed above—within fourteen days from the date of this order. Plaintiff is instructed that any failure to comply with this order will result in dismissal of this action.
The Court will not accept any amended complaint that incorporates by reference any factual allegation or argument contained in an earlier filing, or offers only a piecemeal amendment. Plaintiff's amended complaint should be a stand-alone filing that independently contains all the factual allegations necessary to establish diversity between the parties. --------
SO ORDERED this 13th day of December 2018.
/s/_________
WILLIAM T. MOORE, JR.
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA