Leon v. Exxon Mobil Corporation

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE 10 MISTI LEON, as personal representative CASE NO. C25-1190 MJP of the ESTATE OF JULIANA LEON, 11 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE Plaintiff, v. EXXON MOBIL CORPORATION, et 14 al., 15 Defendants.

17 The Court issues this Order to Show Cause sua sponte after reviewing the Notice of Removal and Plaintiff’s Motion to Remand. (Dkt. Nos. 1 & 56.) The Parties here dispute whether Olympic Pipe Line Company, LLC has been fraudulently joined and whether its presence might destroy diversity jurisdiction. To resolve the pending Motion and the disputed issues, the Court requires more information about the citizenship of Olympic Pipe Line Company, LLC.

1 For purposes of diversity jurisdiction, like a partnership, “an LLC is a citizen of every state of which its owners/members are citizens.” Johnson v. Columbia Properties Anchorage, LP, 437 F.3d 894, 899 (9th Cir. 2006). Missing from the record before the Court is adequate information to assess the citizenship of Olympic Pipe Line Company, LLC. The Corporate Disclosure Statement reveals only that the LLC is owned by two other LLCs: BP Midwest Product Pipelines Holding LLC and SeaPort Pipeline Holdings, LLC. (Dkt. No. 50.) But neither of these LLCs appears to be registered in Washington, and there is no information provided as to their membership/ownership. The information provided does not allow the Court to determine the ultimate citizenship of Defendant Olympic Pipe Line Company, LLC. Accordingly, Defendant Olympic Pipe Line Company, LLC must disclose all members/owners of BP Midwest Product Pipelines Holding LLC and SeaPort Pipeline Holdings, LLC to identify the citizenship of these entities. Should other LLCs or partnerships own BP Midwest Product Pipelines Holding LLC and SeaPort Pipeline Holdings, LLC, then the disclosure must continue until all individuals and/or corporations who are members/owners of these entities are fully identified—the citizenship disclosure cannot end with another LLC or partnership.

16 The Court ORDERS Olympic Pipe Line Company, LLC to file the requested information in response to this Order within 7 days of entry of this Order.

18 The clerk is ordered to provide copies of this order to all counsel.

19 Dated October 3, 2025.

A 21 Marsha J. Pechman United States Senior District Judge