Opinion
2:24-cv-01887-JLS-PD
05-26-2024
Marlon Antonio Munguia et al v. Penske Truck Leasing, Co. et al
Present: Honorable JOSEPHINE L. STATON, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
CIVIL MINUTES - GENERAL
PROCEEDINGS: (IN CHAMBERS) ORDER REMANDING ACTION TO LOS ANGELES COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT (Doc. 18)
The Court previously ordered Defendants MKTS, LLC and Mohammed Nezar-Hatem al Hijazi to show cause why this action should not be remanded for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. (OSC, Doc. 18 at 2.) In addition to one other concern, the Court noted that it could not assess whether it had diversity jurisdiction because Defendants had failed to properly allege the citizenship of Penske Truck Leasing, Co. (Id.) Defendants timely responded. (See Paullin Decl., Doc. 20.) The Court now concludes that Defendants have failed to meet their burden of establishing that this Court has diversity jurisdiction. Therefore, this action is REMANDED to Los Angeles County Superior Court, Case No. 23PSCV03974.
Defendants' notice of removal lacked any allegations regarding the citizenship of Penske Truck Leasing, but the caption identified it as “a Delaware Corporation.” (See generally Notice of Removal, Doc. 2.) In its response to the Court's order to show cause, Defendants assert that Penske Truck Leasing is “a Delaware corporation” with a principal place of business in Morgantown, Pennsylvania. (Paullin Decl. ¶ 5.) In support of that assertion, Defendants cite and attach as an exhibit Penske Truck Leasing's “Foreign Limited Partnership Amendment to Application for Registration.” (See Limited Partnership Amendment, Doc. 20-3 (emphasis added).) As the document title suggests, that document contradicts Defendants' assertion. The document reflects that Penske Truck Leasing is a limited partnership, not a corporation. (See id.) And regarding Morgantown, Pennsylvania, the document reflects only that a general partner in Penske Truck Leasing-PTL GP, LLC-is located there. (See id., item no. 9 (“New Partner”).)
A “limited partnership . . . is a citizen of all of the states of which its partners are citizens.” Johnson v. Columbia Properties Anchorage, LP, 437 F.3d 894, 899 (9th Cir. 2006). Defendants provide no information about the citizenship of PTL GP, LLC; nor do they allege that PTL GP, LLC is the only partner in Penske Truck Leasing. Therefore, Defendants have failed to meet their burden of showing that complete diversity exists between the parties. This action is REMANDED to Los Angeles County Superior Court, Case No. 23PSCV03974.