Opinion
2:23-CV-00804-LK
06-14-2023
NORITA C. SORENSON, as General Personal Representative of the Estate of REID S. SORENSON, Plaintiff, v. AIR & LIQUID SYSTEMS CORPORATION, et al., Defendants.
ORDER DIRECTING COMPLIANCE WITH FEDERAL RULE OF CIVIL PROCEDURE 7.1 AND LOCAL CIVIL RULE 7.1
Lauren King, United States District Judge
This matter comes before the Court sua sponte. On May 30, 2023, Defendant Foster Wheeler Energy Corporation removed this action to federal district court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1442(a)(1). See Dkt. No. 1 at 3-8. Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 7.1(a)(1), any nongovernmental corporate party must file a statement that either (A) “identifies any parent corporation and any publicly held corporation owning 10% or more of its stock” or (B) “states that there is no such corporation.” This district's Local Civil Rules require more. A nongovernmental party “other than an individual or sole proprietorship” must file a corporate disclosure statement that does one of the following:
(1) Identify any parent corporation and any publicly held corporation owning more than 10% of its stock; any member or owner in a joint venture or limited liability corporation (LLC); all partners in a partnership or limited liability partnership (LLP); and any corporate member, if the party is any other unincorporated association; or
(2) State that there “is no parent, shareholder, member, or partner to identify as required by LCR 7.1(a)(1).[”]LCR 7.1(a).
Full disclosure is critical to a proper disqualification analysis under 28 U.S.C. § 455. See also Dkt. No. 16. And yet, many of the defendants' corporate disclosure statements fail to adhere to the requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 7.1(a)(1) and Local Civil Rule 7.1(a). The following table identifies the offending parties and their corresponding disclosure statement deficiencies:
| Party | Deficiencies |
| Howden North America Inc. (Dkt. No. 40) | Fails to identify a parent corporation or otherwise indicate that there is no parent corporation. |
| Genuine Parts Company (Dkt. No. 43) | Fails to identify a parent corporation or otherwise indicate that there is no parent corporation. |
| Morse TEC LLC (Dkt. No. 50) | Fails to identify member(s) of Enstar Holdings (US) LLC. |
| Parker-Hannifin Corporation (Dkt. No. 51) | Fails to identify a parent corporation or otherwise indicate that there is no parent corporation. |
| Metalclad Insulation LLC (Dkt. No. 55) | Fails to identify LLC member(s). |
| Joy Global Underground Mining LLC (Dkt. No. 59) | Fails to identify LLC member(s). |
| Burnham LLC (Dkt. No. 61) | Fails to identify LLC member(s). |
| LuK Clutch Systems, LLC (Dkt. No. 63) | Fails to identify LLC member(s); and fails to identify a parent corporation or otherwise indicate that there is no parent corporation. |
| Green Tweed & Company, Inc. (Dkt. No. 101) | Fails to identify a parent corporation or otherwise indicate that there is no parent corporation. |
| Standard Motor Products, Inc. (Dkt. No. 112) | Fails to identify a parent corporation or otherwise indicate that there is no parent corporation. |
| Aurora Pump Company (Dkt. No. 121) | Fails to identify LLC member(s). |
| Canvas CT, LLC (Dkt. No. 129) | Fails to identify LLC member(s). |
| Mueller Co. LLC (Dkt. No. 134) | Fails to identify LLC member(s). |
| American President Lines, LLC (Dkt. No. 135) | Fails to identify its member(s); and fails to identify a parent corporation or otherwise indicate that there is no parent corporation. |
| Crowley Maritime Corporation (Dkt. No. 136) | Fails to identify a parent corporation or otherwise indicate that there is no parent corporation. |
| Syd Carpenter Marine Contractor, Inc. (Dkt. No. 139) | Fails to identify a parent corporation or otherwise indicate that there is no parent corporation. |
| IMO Industries, Inc. (Dkt. No. 141) | Fails to indicate whether any publicly held corporation owns 10% or more of its stock and, if so, fails to identify that corporation. |
| GENSCO, Inc. (Dkt. No. 142) | Fails to identify a parent corporation or otherwise indicate that there is no parent corporation. |
The above-listed defendants shall have 10 days from the date of this Order to cure the identified deficiencies by filing amended corporate disclosure statements. Failure to do so may result in sanctions. The Court further observes that several defendants have not yet filed corporate disclosure statements. Those parties should diligently review this Order-and the mistakes of their co-defendants-before filing their disclosure statements.