United States District Court, D. Colorado
ORDER MAKING ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE ABSOLUTE AND
REMANDING CASE TO DENVER DISTRICT COURT
WLLIAM
J. MARTÍNEZ UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE.
This
action was initially filed by Plaintiff Charles Henderson
(“Plaintiff”) against Defendant ABM Parking
Services, Inc., (“ABM”) and 1800 Market Tower LLC
(“1800 Market Tower”) (together,
“Defendants”), in the Denver County District
Court on July 25, 2018. (ECF No. 1-1.) On September 14, 2018,
ABM removed the action to federal court, claiming that this
Court had jurisdiction over the action under 28 U.S.C. §
1332. (ECF No. 1.) Because federal courts are courts of
limited jurisdiction, there is a presumption against the
existence of jurisdiction and “[t]he party invoking the
jurisdiction of the court has the duty to establish that
federal jurisdiction does exist.” Basso v. Utah
Power & Light Co., 495 F.2d 906, 909 (10th Cir.
1974); see also United States v. Bustillos, 31 F.3d
931, 933 (10th Cir. 1994) (noting that “[t]he party
seeking to invoke the jurisdiction of a federal court must
demonstrate that the case is within the court's
jurisdiction”). Exercising its independent duty to
examine its subject matter jurisdiction, see Phelps v.
Hamilton, 122 F.3d 1309, 1315-16 (10th Cir. 1997), the
Court entered an Order to Show Cause requiring Defendants to
show that diversity exists based on the citizenship of each
and every member of ABM Industry Groups, LLC, and 1800 Market
Tower, LLC. (ECF No. 13.)
When
determining whether complete diversity of the parties exists,
the Court must consider the citizenship of all members of an
limited liability corporation or limited partnership. See
Carden v. Arkoma Assocs., 494 U.S. 185, 195 (1990)
(citizenship of limited partners must be taken into account
to determine diversity of citizenship of the parties; limited
partnership is not in its own right a citizen of the state
that created it for purposes of diversity); Grynberg v.
Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P., 805 F.3d 901, 905
(10th Cir. 2015) (applying same analysis to master limited
partnership). To establish citizenship, Defendants must
identify the individual members of each limited partnership
and their states of citizenship as established by their
domiciles. See Crowley v. Glaze, 710 F.2d 676, 678
(10th Cir. 1983) (“For purposes of diversity
jurisdiction, one is considered a citizen of the state in
which he is domiciled.”); Miss. Band of Choctaw
Indians v. Holyfield, 490 U.S. 30, 48 (1989)
(“‘Domicile' is not necessarily synonymous
with ‘residence'.... [D]omicile is established by
physical presence in a place in connection with a certain
state of mind concerning one's intent to remain
there.”).
Defendants
responded to the Order to Show Cause on September 24, 2018,
alleging the citizenship of each member of ABM. (ECF No. 15)
Defendants failed, however, to allege the citizenship of each
member of 1800 Market Tower. (Id.) Defendants state
that 1800 Market Tower's sole member is BlackRock
Property Fund Operating Partnership, L.P. Defendants also
state that BlackRock Property Fund Operating Partnership,
L.P.'s sole general partner is BlackRock U.S. Core
Property Fund, Inc. Defendants proceed to allege (albeit
deficiently, see infra note 1) the citizenship of
BlackRock U.S. Core Property Fund, Inc.[1]
Defendants
completely fail, however, to identify the identity or
citizenship of any limited partner or partners of BlackRock
Property Fund Operating Partnership, L.P. By definition, a
Delaware limited partnership is comprised of “1 or more
general partners and 1 or more limited partners.” Del.
Code Ann. tit. 6, §17-101(9). Absent any indicia of the
identity or citizenship of the limited partners of BlackRock
Property Fund Operating Partnership, L.P., Defendants have
not established that complete diversity of the parties exists
and thus fail to demonstrate-as is their burden-that this
action is within the Court's jurisdiction.
Bustillos, 31 F.3d at 933.
Consequently,
the Court's Order to Show Cause (ECF No. 13) is MADE
ABSOLUTE and the above-captioned action is REMANDED to Denver
County District Court. The Clerk shall transmit the file.
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Notes:
[1] Defendants' conclusion as to the
citizenship of BlackRock U.S. Core Property Fund, Inc., (and
therefore 1800 Market Tower) as solely as citizen of New York
is inaccurate. “[A] corporation shall be deemed to be a
citizen of every State and foreign state by which it has been
incorporated and of the State or foreign state where it has
its principal place of business.” 28 U.S.C.
§1332(c)(1). According to Defendants' filing,
BlackRock U.S. Core Property Fund, Inc., is a Maryland
corporation with its principal place of business in New York.
(ECF No. 15.) Therefore, BlackRock U.S. Core Property ...