KATHERINE P. NELSON, Magistrate Judge.
This action is before the Court sua sponte on review of its subject matter jurisdiction.
This case was removed to this Court by Defendant Hogan Architectural Wood Products, LLC, which claims that its correct name is Hogan Architectural Hardwoods, LLC (hereinafter, "the Hogan LLC"), under 28 U.S.C. § 1441(a). In its Notice of Removal (Doc. 1), the Hogan LLC alleges diversity of citizenship under 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a) as the sole basis for the Court's subject matter jurisdiction. See 28 U.S.C. § 1446(a) ("A defendant or defendants desiring to remove any civil action from a State court shall file in the district court of the United States for the district and division within which such action is pending a notice of removal...containing a short and plain statement of the grounds for removal...").
Where, as here, a case is removed from state court, "[t]he burden of establishing subject matter jurisdiction falls on the party invoking removal." Univ. of S. Alabama v. Am. Tobacco Co., 168 F.3d 405, 411-12 (11th Cir. 1999). Accord, e.g., City of Vestavia Hills v. Gen. Fid. Ins. Co., 676 F.3d 1310, 1313 (11th Cir. 2012) ("The removing party bears the burden of proof regarding the existence of federal subject matter jurisdiction."). "A defendant may remove an action to a district court that would have original jurisdiction if complete diversity between the parties exists and the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000." City of Vestavia Hills, 676 F.3d at 1313 (citing 28 U.S.C. § 1332). "Diversity jurisdiction requires complete diversity; every plaintiff must be diverse from every defendant." Triggs v. John Crump Toyota, Inc., 154 F.3d 1284, 1287 (11th Cir. 1998). "A party removing a case to federal court based on diversity of citizenship bears the burden of establishing the citizenship of the parties." Rolling Greens MHP, L.P. v. Comcast SCH Holdings L.L.C., 374 F.3d 1020, 1022 (11th Cir. 2004) (per curiam). See also, e.g., Ray v. Bird & Son & Asset Realization Co., Inc., 519 F.2d 1081, 1082 (5th Cir. 1975) ("The burden of pleading diversity of citizenship is upon the party invoking federal jurisdiction . . ." (citing Mas v. Perry, 489 F.2d 1396 (5th Cir. 1974)).
The Notice of Removal correctly alleges that the Plaintiff, a corporation, is a citizen of Alabama. See (Doc. 1 at 7, ¶ 21 ("Plaintiff OHC is an Alabama corporation with its principal place of business in Mobile County, Alabama; and hence is a citizen of Alabama.")); 28 U.S.C. § 1332(c)(1). Correctly recognizing that, for purposes of diversity jurisdiction, "a limited liability company is a citizen of any state of which a member of the company is a citizen[,]" Rolling Greens MHP, L.P. v. Comcast SCH Holdings L.L.C., 374 F.3d 1020, 1022 (11th Cir. 2004) (per curiam), the Notice of Removal also identifies the 3 members of the Hogan LLC: Defendant M. David Hogan, non-party Johnnie F. Hogan, and non-party the Succession of Paul M. Hogan, deceased. (Doc. 1 at 6, ¶ 16). The Notice alleges that M. David and Johnnie Hogan, both natural persons, are citizens of Louisiana. (See id., ¶¶ 15, 17).
However, the Notice of Removal only ever alleges that decedent Paul M. Hogan, also a natural person, was a resident of Louisiana at the time of his death. See (id. at 2, 6, ¶¶ 3, 18); 28 U.S.C. § 1332(c)(2) (for purposes of diversity jurisdiction, "the legal representative of the estate of a decedent shall be deemed to be a citizen only of the same State as the decedent..."). "Citizenship, not residence, is the key fact that must be alleged . . . to establish diversity for a natural person." Taylor v. Appleton, 30 F.3d 1365, 1367 (11th Cir. 1994).
"Defective allegations of jurisdiction may be amended, upon terms, in the trial or appellate courts." 28 U.S.C. § 1653. "[T]he failure to establish a party's citizenship at the time of filing the removal notice is a procedural, rather than jurisdictional, defect." Corporate Mgmt. Advisors, Inc. v. Artjen Complexus, Inc., 561 F.3d 1294, 1296 (11th Cir. 2009) (quotation omitted). "If a party fails to specifically allege citizenship in their notice of removal, the district court should allow that party `to cure the omission,' as authorized by § 1653." Id. at 1297. Upon consideration, the Hogan LLC is hereby
On April 12, 2019, following removal, Defendant M. David Hogan filed pro se an answer to the initial complaint. (Doc. 2). To date, the Hogan LLC has not filed an answer or Rule 12 motion in response to the initial complaint. On April 24, 2019, the Plaintiff filed its First Amended Complaint, which joins Brent Upshaw and Blake Ogilvie as defendants in this action. (Doc. 14). Generally, such amendment as a matter of course would have been proper under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15(a)(1)(B). However, "[i]f after removal the plaintiff seeks to join additional defendants whose joinder would destroy subject matter jurisdiction, the court may deny joinder, or permit joinder and remand the action to the State court." 28 U.S.C. § 1447(e). A "district court ha[s] no discretion to add [a nondiverse party] as a defendant, retain jurisdiction and decide the case on the merits." Ingram v. CSX Transp., Inc., 146 F.3d 858, 863 (11th Cir. 1998). Rather, when § 1447(e) applies, a district court has "only two options: (1) deny joinder; or (2) permit joinder and remand [the] case to state court." Id.
The First Amended Complaint only alleges Upshaw and Ogilvie's state of residence (see Doc. 14 at 2, ¶¶ 4-5), which, as explained above, is insufficient to allege a natural person's citizenship. Because the Plaintiff has failed to adequately demonstrate that Upshaw and Ogilvie's citizenships are diverse from the Plaintiff's, their joinder is denied at this time, and the First Amended Complaint (Doc. 14) is hereby