Elawyers Elawyers
Washington| Change

THOMAS v. LOUIS DREYFUS COMMODITIES, LLC, 15-394-SDD-RLB. (2016)

Court: District Court, M.D. Louisiana Number: infdco20160524993 Visitors: 11
Filed: May 23, 2016
Latest Update: May 23, 2016
Summary: ORDER RICHARD L. BOURGEOIS, Jr. Magistrate Judge . Before the Court is a Joint Motion to Amend Scheduling Order and Unopposed Motion for Leave to File Amended Petition filed by Joshua Thomas ("Plaintiff"), Louis Dreyfus Commodities, LLC ("LDC"), and Zurich American Insurance Company ("Zurich") (R. Doc. 29) filed on April 28, 2016. In short, Plaintiff seeks leave to file an Amended Petition naming T.E. Ibberson Company ("TEI") as a defendant in this action despite the December 2, 2015 dead
More

ORDER

Before the Court is a Joint Motion to Amend Scheduling Order and Unopposed Motion for Leave to File Amended Petition filed by Joshua Thomas ("Plaintiff"), Louis Dreyfus Commodities, LLC ("LDC"), and Zurich American Insurance Company ("Zurich") (R. Doc. 29) filed on April 28, 2016. In short, Plaintiff seeks leave to file an Amended Petition naming T.E. Ibberson Company ("TEI") as a defendant in this action despite the December 2, 2015 deadline set by the Court for amending pleadings.

On December 7, 2015, defendants LDC and Zurich filed a Third-Party Demand naming TEI as a third-party defendant. (R. Doc. 13). The Third-Party Demand did not identify the citizenship of TEI.1

This action was removed on the basis of the diversity jurisdiction statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1332. As it stands, there is complete diversity between the Plaintiff and the named defendants.2 Plaintiff's proposed Amended Petition for Damages (R. Doc. 29-2) does not identify the citizenship of TEI, the proposed additional defendant. Assuming TEI is a corporation, Plaintiff must provide TEI's state of incorporation and principal place of business in the proposed amended pleading so the Court may determine its citizenship and whether granting the instant motion will affect jurisdiction. See 28 U.S.C. § 1332(c)(1); Illinois Central Gulf Railroad Co. v. Pargas, Inc., 706 F.2d 633, 637 (5th Cir. 1983).3

Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that the Motion (R. Doc. 29) is DENIED without prejudice to the submission of a pleading properly setting forth the citizenship particulars required to establish that the Court has diversity jurisdiction over the case with the proposed additional defendant, T.E. Ibberson Company. To the extent the parties seek an amendment to the Scheduling Order to any deadlines other than the deadline applicable to adding new parties, the parties can seek that relief by way of separate motion, setting forth good cause for extensions of any applicable deadlines.

FootNotes


1. TEI has made a special appearance for the sole purpose of filing a motion to stay pending arbitration. (R. Doc. 27).
2. Plaintiff is a citizen of Louisiana. (R. Doc. 1 at 2). Zurich is a citizen of New York and Illinois. (R. Doc. 1 at 2). LDC is a citizen of Delaware and Connecticut. (R. Doc. 2 at 1).
3. If TEI is a limited liability company, Plaintiff must provide the citizenship of each of its members. See Harvey v. Grey Wolf Drilling Co., 542 F.3d 1077, 1080 (5th Cir. 2008). When members are themselves limited liability companies, the citizenship must be traced through however many layers of members there may be. Turner Bros. Crane & Rigging, LLC v. Kingboard Chem. Holding Ltd., No. 06-88, 2007 WL 2848154, at *4 (M.D. La. Sept. 24, 2007).
Source:  Leagle

Can't find what you're looking for?

Post a free question on our public forum.
Ask a Question
Search for lawyers by practice areas.
Find a Lawyer