Hansen Ranch, LLC v. Fireman's Fund Insurance Company, 5:25-cv-06680

Plaintiffs (Hansen Ranch LLC and Hawkins Ranch LLC) filed an insurance coverage case originally in Santa Clara County Superior Court.
Defendants (Fireman's Fund Insurance Co. and National Surety Corp.) removed the case to federal court, invoking diversity jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332.
The removal notice asserted that Plaintiffs are LLCs based in California and Defendants are corporations headquartered in Illinois.
The defendants claimed the amount in controversy requirement was satisfied.
The federal court questioned whether the required complete diversity of citizenship is met, because the removal notice did not properly establish the citizenship of all LLC members.
The court issued an order to defendants to show cause, by a specific deadline, why the case should not be remanded to state court for lack of federal subject matter jurisdiction.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether federal subject matter jurisdiction exists	Implicitly contests removal	Federal court has diversity jurisdiction	Not yet decided; defendants must show cause
Proper test for LLC citizenship for diversity	Implied: test not met	LLC citizenship based on principal place of business	Removal notice used incorrect legal test
Sufficient facts supporting diversity	Implied: insufficient facts	Assumes proper facts provided (did not detail LLC member citizenship)	Defendants failed to provide needed details
Amount in controversy requirement	Not contested	Satisfied (amount exceeds $75,000)	Not in dispute—threshold satisfied

Owen Equip. & Erection Co. v. Kroger, 437 U.S. 365 (federal courts have limited jurisdiction; party invoking jurisdiction bears the burden)
Scott v. Breeland, 792 F.2d 925 (burden is on party asserting federal jurisdiction; presumption against it)
Johnson v. Columbia Props. Anchorage, LP, 437 F.3d 894 (LLC citizenship determined by citizenship of each owner/member for diversity purposes)