Lombard v. Southern Fidelity Insurance Company ( 2023 )

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA CHARLES LOMBARD CIVIL ACTION NO: 22-CV-1556 VERSUS JUDGE DARREL JAMES PAPILLION SOUTHERN FIDELITY INSURANCE CO. MAGISTRATE JUDGE JANIS VAN MEERVELD ORDER AND REASONS This is an insurance coverage suit arising from damage sustained during Hurricane Ida. R. Doc. 1-1 at ¶¶ 5-11. On May 27, 2023, Defendant Southern Fidelity Insurance Company removed the suit to this Court, and Plaintiff Charles Lombard thereafter filed an Amended Complaint adding Louisiana Insurance Guaranty Association (“LIGA”) as a defendant. R. Docs 1-1 and 18. The sole basis of subject matter jurisdiction in this matter is diversity jurisdiction, which requires an amount in controversy exceeding $75,000, and complete diversity of citizenship between plaintiffs and defendants. 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a). Plaintiff is a resident of Louisiana. R. Doc. 24 at 3. LIGA, as an unincorporated association, “has the citizenship for diversity purposes of each of its constituent member insurers.” Francis v. S. Fidelity Ins. Co., No. 22-CV-763, 2023 WL 2674709, at *1 (E.D. La. Mar. 29, 2023). “LIGA has constituent member insurers based in Louisiana,” and is therefore a citizen of Louisiana. Id. The parties are not completely diverse, and, therefore, remand is proper. Spivey v. Chitimacha Tribe of La., 79 F.4th 444, 447 (5th Cir. 2023) (“[W]hen a district court determines that it lacks subject matter jurisdiction over a removed case, it must remand.”). Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED this matter is REMANDED to the 22nd Judicial District Court for the Parish of St. Tammany, State of Louisiana. New Orleans, Louisiana, this 10th day of October 2023. DARREL JAMES PAPI LION UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE