Cherie Norton v. SF Markets, LLC

Summary

The United States District Court for the Central District of California remanded the action to Orange County Superior Court for lack of diversity jurisdiction. The court held that removing defendant SF Markets, LLC failed to establish the citizenship of all of its members and did not comply with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 7.1 or the court's order to show cause. The court also vacated the scheduled hearing and scheduling conference.

Holdings

1. A defendant invoking federal removal jurisdiction bears the burden of demonstrating that subject matter jurisdiction exists and that removal is proper.
2. A party proceeding in federal court on the basis of diversity jurisdiction must file a disclosure statement naming and identifying the citizenship of every individual or entity whose citizenship is attributed to that party, including when the party is an LLC.
3. The action must be remanded to state court when the removing defendant fails to establish diversity jurisdiction.

Questions Presented

1. Whether SF Markets established federal subject matter jurisdiction based on diversity of citizenship.
2. Whether SF Markets complied with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 7.1 by identifying every individual or entity whose citizenship is attributed to the LLC.
3. Whether the action had to be remanded when the removing defendant failed to meet its burden to establish diversity jurisdiction.

Disposition

remanded