Jannette Thompson Abernathy and Chris Alexander Abernathy v. The TJX Companies, Inc., EREP Forest Hill I, LLC, and The Shopping Center Group, LLC

Summary

The United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee grants Plaintiffs’ motion to remand a premises-liability action to Shelby County Circuit Court. The court holds that the removing defendant failed to establish complete diversity because it did not identify the citizenship of the members and sub-members of the defendant LLCs. The court remands the case for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction.

Holdings

1. The removing defendants failed to establish complete diversity because they did not identify the citizenship of every member and sub-member of the defendant LLCs.
2. The court was required to remand the action to Shelby County Circuit Court because the defendants failed to establish federal subject matter jurisdiction.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the defendants established complete diversity of citizenship sufficient to support removal under 28 U.S.C. § 1332.
2. Whether the defendants established the citizenship of every member and sub-member of the defendant limited liability companies.
3. Whether the federal court should remand the action for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.

Disposition

remanded