Knight Consulting Group, LLC, et al. v. Sean Arora, et al.

Summary

The United States District Court for the Northern District of California ordered defendant Sean Arora to show cause why the case should not be remanded to state court for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The court concluded that Arora had not adequately established complete diversity because he did not provide the citizenship of the members of plaintiff Knight Consulting Group, LLC, although the amount-in-controversy requirement appeared satisfied.

Holdings

1. For purposes of diversity jurisdiction, an LLC is a citizen of every state of which its owners or members are citizens; a party relying on diversity jurisdiction must provide sufficient facts to apply that test.
2. Because the removing defendant had not established that federal subject matter jurisdiction was satisfied, the court required him to show cause in writing why the case should not be remanded to state court.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the notice of removal established federal diversity subject matter jurisdiction.
2. Whether the citizenship of Knight Consulting Group, LLC could be determined without information about the citizenship of its owners or members.
3. Whether the defendant should be required to show cause why the action should not be remanded for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.

Disposition

other