Leon-Herrera v. Bar-S Foods Co
2:24-cv-00153
| D.N.M. | Jan 17, 2025Background
- Plaintiff Juan Carlos Leon-Herrera filed an Amended Complaint in federal court asserting diversity jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332 against several defendants: Cal Fresco, LLC; The Sygma Network, Inc.; Custom Pro Logistics, LLC; and Jorge Zuniga Isais (d/b/a RVJ Transport).
- The Complaint claims no federal law cause of action, making diversity jurisdiction the sole basis for federal subject matter jurisdiction.
- The Court identified that the Complaint did not properly allege the citizenship of several parties, including Plaintiff, Cal Fresco, Custom Pro, and Zuniga, using residency rather than domicile/citizenship standards.
- The proper method for alleging citizenship of LLCs and individual parties was not followed, especially tracing citizenship through all layers of LLC members.
- The deadline to file amended pleadings has passed, but the Court sua sponte allowed amendment by interlineation to cure jurisdictional defects.
- Plaintiff is ordered to amend the Complaint within 14 days or show cause as to why the case should not be dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the complaint properly alleges diversity of citizenship for all parties | alleges residence as sufficient | not specified | Complaint fails to properly allege citizenship; amendment required |
| Whether the Court has subject matter jurisdiction based on the current pleadings | asserts diversity jurisdiction | not specified | Cannot determine jurisdiction due to insufficient allegations |
| Whether amendment to allege citizenship should be allowed past deadline | not specified | not specified | Amendment by interlineation allowed for jurisdictional facts |
| Sufficiency of Sygma's citizenship allegation | sufficiently pled | not contested | Sufficient for Sygma; others require clarification |
Key Cases Cited
- Siloam Springs Hotel, L.L.C. v. Century Sur. Co., 781 F.3d 1233 (10th Cir. 2015) (Diversity citizenship of an LLC is determined by the citizenship of all its members, not its place of formation or business)
- Grynberg v. Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P., 805 F.3d 901 (10th Cir. 2015) (Corporation’s citizenship is based on its state of incorporation and principal place of business)
- Middleton v. Stephenson, 749 F.3d 1197 (10th Cir. 2014) (Domicile, not residency, determines citizenship for jurisdiction)