Opinion
CASE NO: 1:15-cv-158-JD-SLC
06-25-2015
VICKI L. SWANSON, Plaintiff, v. ARBONNE INTERNATIONAL, LLC, Defendant.
OPINION AND ORDER
This case was removed to this Court from the Allen County Superior Court by Defendant Arbonne International, LLC, based on diversity jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a). (DE 1). The Petition for Removal alleges that Plaintiff Vicki Swanson is an Indiana citizen and that Defendant Arbonne International, LLC, "is a California company with its principal place of business in Irvine, California." (DE 1 at ¶¶ 3, 4).
However, the Petition for Removal is inadequate because it fails to properly allege the citizenship of Defendant. The state in which a limited liability company ("LLC") is organized is immaterial for purposes of determining diversity jurisdiction; an LLC's citizenship "for purposes of . . . diversity jurisdiction is the citizenship of its members." Cosgrove v. Bartolotta, 150 F.3d 729, 731 (7th Cir. 1998). Therefore, the Court must be advised of the identity of each member of Arbonne International, LLC, and such member's citizenship. Hicklin Eng'g, L.C. v. Bartell, 439 F.3d 346, 347 (7th Cir. 2006); see generally Guar. Nat'l Title Co. v. J.E.G. Assocs., 101 F.3d 57, 59 (7th Cir. 1996) (explaining that the court would "need to know the name and citizenship(s)" of each partner for diversity jurisdiction purposes). Moreover, citizenship must be "traced through multiple levels" for those members who are a partnership or an LLC, as anything less can result in a remand for want of jurisdiction. Mut. Assignment & Indem. Co. v. Lind-Waldock & Co., LLC, 364 F.3d 858, 861 (7th Cir. 2004).
Accordingly, Defendant is ORDERED to supplement the record by filing an amended notice of removal on or before July 8, 2015, that properly alleges its citizenship.
SO ORDERED.
Enter for this 25th day of June 2015.
s/ Susan Collins
Susan Collins,
United States Magistrate Judge