Dental Health Service Inc v. Regulatory Insurance Advisors LLC

THE HONORABLE JOHN C. COUGHENOUR UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON 8 AT SEATTLE DENTAL HEALTH SERVICES, INC., CASE NO. C20-1591-JCC Plaintiff, MINUTE ORDER 11 v. REGULATORY INSURANCE ADVISORS, LLC, Defendant.

The following Minute Order is made by direction of the Court, the Honorable John C.

Coughenour, United States District Judge: This matter comes before the Court sua sponte. Defendant alleges that the Court has jurisdiction over this matter pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a), but Defendant’s notice of removal does not adequately plead jurisdiction. Specifically, while it pleads its own citizenship, it does not plead the citizenship of its members. See NewGen, LLC v. Safe Cig, LLC, 840 F.3d 606, 612 (9th Cir. 2016) (“A limited liability company is a citizen of every state of which its owners/members are citizens, not the state in which it was formed or does business.”) (internal citation omitted); see also Dart Cherokee Basin Operating Co., LLC v. Owens, 574 U.S. 81, 89 (2014) (removal notice must include plausible allegations to demonstrate satisfaction of jurisdictional requirements). Accordingly, Defendant must plead the citizenship of its members to demonstrate complete diversity with Plaintiff. However, “[d]efective jurisdictional allegations are not fatal.” NewGen, LLC, 840 F.3d at 612. The Court “may permit parties to amend defective allegations of jurisdiction at any stage in the proceedings.” Id.; see 28 U.S.C. § 1653.

4 Accordingly, the Court ORDERS Defendant to file an amended notice of removal demonstrating that this Court has jurisdiction to hear this matter pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332 by no later than December 29, 2020. Absent this Court’s receipt of the amended notice described above, the Court will remand the matter to the King County Superior Court. The Clerk is DIRECTED to renote Defendant’s motion to compel arbitration and stay case (Dkt. No. 9) to December 29, 2020.

10 DATED this 15th day of December 2020.

11 William M. McCool Clerk of Court s/Paula McNabb 13 Deputy Clerk