Daryl Houston and Jose Serrano v. Speedway LLC and John Doe Security Guard

Summary

The United States District Court for the District of New Mexico denied without prejudice Plaintiffs’ motion to amend their complaint to add Single Source Security, LLC d/b/a Protos Security. The court held that Plaintiffs had not provided sufficient information to determine whether joinder would destroy diversity jurisdiction and had not adequately shown diligence in seeking amendment after the scheduling-order deadline.

Holdings

1. A motion to add an LLC defendant after removal must provide sufficient information about the LLC's membership and citizenship to permit the court to determine whether joinder would destroy diversity jurisdiction and whether 28 U.S.C. § 1447(e), rather than ordinary Rule 15 analysis, governs.
2. A party seeking amendment after the scheduling-order deadline must show good cause by demonstrating that the deadline could not be met despite diligent efforts; an unexplained delay does not satisfy that requirement.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the motion to amend adequately addressed whether adding Single Source Security, LLC would destroy diversity jurisdiction and therefore trigger 28 U.S.C. § 1447(e).
2. Whether plaintiffs demonstrated good cause and diligence for seeking amendment after the scheduling-order deadline.
3. Whether the motion should be denied without prejudice to refiling.

Disposition

other