Terrace Hudson v. Mark Jones, Robyn Jones, and Goosehead Insurance

Summary

The United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois determines that diversity jurisdiction was lacking because the ownership chain of Goosehead Insurance Agency LLC included a member sharing Illinois citizenship with plaintiff Terrace Hudson. The court remands the case to the Circuit Court for the Twentieth Judicial Circuit, St. Clair County, Illinois, for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction and denies the motion to remand as moot.

Holdings

1. A party invoking diversity jurisdiction must affirmatively allege the specific states of citizenship of every member of an LLC or other unincorporated association, tracing citizenship through all layers of ownership.
2. The court lacked diversity subject matter jurisdiction because at least one relevant member in Goosehead Insurance Agency LLC's chain of ownership shared Illinois citizenship with the plaintiff; remand was therefore required under 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c).

Questions Presented

1. Whether the defendants adequately pleaded complete diversity of citizenship to establish federal diversity jurisdiction.
2. Whether remand was required because a member in Goosehead Insurance Agency LLC's ownership chain shared Illinois citizenship with the plaintiff.

Disposition

remanded