Craft v. Longs Drug Stores California, L.L.C.

Background

Longs removed the action to federal court, asserting diversity jurisdiction and alleging that Cynthia Craft and Longs have different citizenship. The court previously ordered Longs to provide information about the citizenship of co-defendant Bay Hill’s members.

Court’s analysis

Longs’s supplemental response stated that it did not believe any Bay Hill member was a California citizen, relying on a California Secretary of State filing and conversations with Bay Hill’s counsel. The court found that this did not satisfy Longs’s burden to establish diversity jurisdiction. The information submitted identified FW-REG II Holdings, LLC as a member or possibly a manager of Bay Hill, but Longs did not identify the citizenship of FW-REG II Holdings’ members. The court explained that, when a limited liability company is involved, diversity jurisdiction requires identifying the citizenship of every member, including the members of any member company. The court also noted that it was unclear whether FW-REG III Holdings was Bay Hill’s only member because a declaration referred to Bay Hill’s “members.”

Order

The court gave Longs one final opportunity to establish federal subject-matter jurisdiction. It ordered Longs to allege the citizenship of all relevant members of all defendants and stated that simply asserting a belief that no unidentified member was a California citizen was insufficient. Longs’s supplemental filing was due August 26, 2024.