Opinion
Case No. CIV-15-698-D
07-31-2015
JULIE ANN SPAAN, Plaintiff, v. JOHNSON & JOHNSON; JANSSEN RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT, LLC; and JANSSEN PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.; Defendants.
ORDER
One defendant in this case, Janssen Research & Development, LLC, is identified as a limited liability company but Plaintiff Julie Ann Spaan ("Plaintiff")has failed to file the requisite Disclosure Statement, pursuant to LCvR 7.1.1. Like a limited partnership or other unincorporated association, the citizenship of a limited liability company is determined by reference to its owners or members. See Siloam Springs Hotel, LLC v. Century Surety Co., 791 F.3d 1233, 1237-38 (10th Cir. 2015); Grey Wolf Drilling Co., 542 F.3d 1077, 1080 (5th Cir. 2008). The Complaint contains no factual allegations concerning the citizenship of the owners or members of the limited liability company. Accordingly, Plaintiff fails to allege sufficient facts to establish in this case the existence of subject-matter jurisdiction based on diversity of citizenship pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a).
The Court has "an independent obligation to determine whether subject-matter jurisdiction exists" and may raise the issue sua sponte at any time. Image Software, Inc. v. Reynolds & Reynolds Co., 459 F.3d 1044, 1048 (10
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that Plaintiff shall file an amended pleading that alleges a sufficient factual basis for diversity jurisdiction within 14 days from the date of this Order.
/s/_________
TIMOTHY D. DEGIUSTI
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
th Cir. 2006).